You're not Alone
by Of Memories Past
Summary: After the final battle with Naraku the well seals, forcing Kagome back to her time for good. Only Inuyasha knows a way for them to be reunited again, and it doesn't involve the well...
1. Part I

DISCLAIMER: Nope, I don't own Inuyasha or anything to do with it.

You're not Alone

By: _Of Memories Past_

_Part I_

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

_No._ Shuddering, she tentatively brought her hand to touch the edge of the ancient wood. It was so _cold._ As she gazed down into the dark depths, her sparkling tears falling freely, she realized that the old warmth that it had possessed had disappeared, and it now only held the same loneliness as before. The life that it had once had was gone. The life that it led to was _gone._

She shook her head, not wanting to believe what lay in front of her, and lifted her trembling body onto its edge. The pain from her bloody knees did not even register, although their current condition was to blame from committing the same action that she was about to take again. Clenching her eyes shut, she plunged into the darkness.

And she landed on the harsh earth that had been there for the past five hundred years.

Her fingers dug into the soil while the tears welled up once again in her eyes. It was hopeless.

And knowing so, she pounded the earthen floor in fury and despair. "_INUYASHA!_" 

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

"Hurry, Inuyasha! Try it again!" The small kitsune sat by and watched with tearful eyes as the hanyou desperately tried to break whatever barrier it was sealing the well. He could not bear to lose another mother. Even Kaede had tried her hardest, shooting the most powerful sacred arrows she had down into the well. But nothing would break the seal.

His own tears of frustration forming, Inuyasha dropped the Tetsusaiga and fell to the ground, pulling a sobbing Shippo into his arms. Shippo cried harder than he ever had with his face buried in Inuyasha's haori. Sango and Miroku stood by watching with pale faces as the last attempt failed. The demon-huntress began crying at the loss of her best friend, immediately moving to the comfort of Miroku's arms. For once the monk kept his hands to himself and silently allowed the tears to course down his cheeks. She was gone. Forever.

"It be the Jewel," Kaede observed quietly. She reached out and touched the edge of the well. "Ye have completed ye task. Naraku is dead and the Jewel complete. The Jewel sent Kagome back to her own time. She is not needed here anymore."

Inuyasha shook his head stubbornly, glaring at the jewel that had been the cause of his trouble for as long as he could remember. _He_ needed her. First it had taken Kikyo from him, and now it had taken Kagome. "There has to be a way," he said through clenched teeth. Instinctively, he held Shippo tighter.

Kaede shook her head sadly. "Only time, Inuyasha. Only time."

_Time_. Realization donned on him, and he carefully straightened the kit in his lap. "Stop crying, Shippo."

Shippo sniffled, rubbed at his eyes, and then looked up at Inuyasha. "Why?" His lower lip quivered, a warning that the tears were once more about to overflow.

He sighed and ruffled Shippo's hair before setting him on the ground. "We will see Kagome again." Even though it would be a while, the assurance was there. _Demons lived through the ages_. But even as that thought crossed his mind, he threw a sad glance toward the humans. Miroku, Sango, and Kaede would not get that chance.

Clenching her eyes shut and biting her lower lip, Sango's fists tightened before she released a sob and ran to Inuyasha, flinging herself in his arms. Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck as she buried her face into the fine silver hair and just cried.

Inuyasha was surprised at first when Sango launched herself at him. But after the initial shock wore off he carefully wrapped his arms around her quivering form, completely enveloping her in the red haori.

"It's okay, Sango," he soothed, rocking her back and forth gently. But he knew that it was not. Sango would not see her best friend ever again. "It will be okay."

Sango took in a sharp breath as more tears rolled down her cheeks. "Promise me you will take care of her?" She pulled back and looked Inuyasha straight in his amber eyes. "Promise me." The last statement was more of a command.

Inuyasha nodded. "I promise."

More at ease with his answer, Sango pushed her self away and stood up. Determined, she looked to Kaede and Miroku. "We're not going to see her again, but that doesn't mean that we lose her completely. This isn't going to be easy for her either." She turned back to Inuyasha. "I'm going to write her until the day I die. When you find her again, give her the letters for me?" Sango's voice choked.

He lightly grasped Sango's hand. "I will."

"And we will write her also." Miroku said, wrapping an arm around Kaede. "It will take more than the power of that Jewel to keep us out of each other's lives."

Kaede looked down at the fully completed Jewel in her hands. Sighing she walked over to Inuyasha and placed it in his hands. "She would want ye to have it."

He looked down as the one thing that he had searched for most of his life was given to him. But things were different now. His brows furrowed and an angry snarl escaped his lips. "I don't want it. I hate it."

"Guard it, Inuyasha. Guard it as she would have," Kaede warned. "Many demons will be after it now that it is complete, but it still cannot be purified without Kagome."

He took it against his will. The desire to throw the loathed object to the ends of the earth swelled up inside of him, but he pushed it back knowing full well that his duty to it was far from over. A small tug on his kimono brought him from his thoughts.

Shippo looked up at him with wide eyes. "What do we do now, Inuyasha."

"We wait, Shippo. We wait for five hundred years."

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

Kagome growled violently at the mathematical equation in front of her. School. It had seemed so important to her before while she fought in the Warring States Era, desiring not only to complete the Jewel but also to succeed in her classes. Only now, one year after the fateful sealing of the well, she found herself loathing the very idea of it. _It_ had taken her away from her friends just so that she could take a difficult test or study. _It_ had take away from her precious time with the people she loved. And she would give anything to go back and spend all those times she had come home to study or take a test back in the feudal times.

Refusing to let anymore tears fall, Kagome abrasively shoved her schoolbooks into the darkest corner of her room and changed into a pair of sweat pants and a work out shirt. She would take her frustrations out on the equipment in the gym downtown. As she pulled her hair back into a high ponytail, she realized that it was one of the only things that calmed her spirit these days. That and sitting by the Goshinboku. She craved physical activity, missing all the hours of running that she got back; she craved the peace that she had had in the past.

"Mama, I'll be back in a couple hours!" she called on her way out the door, only stopping to scratch Buyo's ears and grab her gym bag. She ran all the way to the bus stop.

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

"Hang in there, Kaede," Inuyasha murmured. He picked up a cool cloth and laid it on her forehead. "You can't leave us yet." 

The old, dying woman looked up at the hanyou and smiled. He had changed so greatly over the years. "My time has come, Inuyasha. Ye all will be fine without me." She comfortably closed her eyes and smiled again before reaching up and laying a hand on his cheek. "Ye are both my elder and my junior, Inuyasha. I remember ye from the time when I was a child. I remember the big, strong hanyou who often came to see my sister."

Inuyasha unashamedly let the tears in his eyes fall down his cheeks. He remembered Kaede as a little girl. She had been the one little girl in the whole village that showed no fear of him. He smiled, remembering how she would come flying toward him as he entered the village, fearlessly scrambling onto his back and hitching a ride all the way back to her hut. But reality snapped back into place as an old, frail hand grasped his. He sadly looked down at her. His little girl was dying.

Kaede took in a sharp breath before continuing. "But if ye jump ahead fifty years, I can also remember watching over ye as if ye were a pup, constantly having to separate ye and another girl from arguing."

"Feh." He turned his face away, trying his best to look annoyed with her. He knew it was not working when he heard the old voice chuckle. He grew concerned as hand suddenly clutched his tightly. He knew that it was time.

"Inuyasha…" She whispered.

Inuyasha looked down at her and smiled. 

Kaede felt tears of her own forming as she looked at that smile. It held in it everything that he had never told her to her face. She knew that the hanyou—the hanyou that she had grown up admiring for his strength and noble character— cared for her.

"Do you prefer me as your elder or junior, Kaede?"

Kaede closed her eyes and smiled at the gentle tone in his voice. "As my _elder_, Inuyasha." She opened her eyes and smiled when she felt the clawed hand resting gently on the side of her face.

"Then go to sleep, dear Kaede," he whispered, the tears falling freely, "and I will see you when the sun rises again."

Kaede smiled peacefully as her childhood hero leaned over and kissed her forehead. Her life slipped away from her, her soul completely at rest.

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

Kagome grimaced at her luck as she climbed aboard the bus. Packed to its fullest, she would be fortunate to find a seat. She paid the driver and then pushed and shoved her way to the back where the last seat available was. _"Ugh, sweatpants are not good for a hot, crowded bus," _she thought, taking her seat next to a young man about her age. But she did not sit too closely. The looks he gave her sent an unnerving sensation running up her spine.

He was a good-looking guy but obviously a troublemaker also. His deep, brown hair hung carelessly over his right eye as he lustfully eyed Kagome. Those piercing blue eyes took their time running up the length of her body coming to rest on her face. Resting his elbows on his tattered jeans, he leaned forward.

"And what would your name be, sweetheart?" he asked huskily.

Kagome crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly, obviously not appreciating being ogled. "It is none of your concern." With that she turn her face, refusing to give him anymore of her time. Guys like that were trouble, no questions asked. Instead she turned her attention to the little girl sitting across from her.

She had to stop herself from staring. The child could not have been any older than seven years of age, but already had an exotic beauty about her. Long, creamy, blonde hair was pulled back traditionally, beautifully complementing the traditional kimono that she wore. Kagome could not take her eyes off of the kimono. The fine, silken material was the color of summer roses…an almost blazing pink color…embroidered with fine gold thread that seemed to burn like fire as the late afternoon sunlight fell across it. She took into notice that the girl seemed to have a black diamond tattooed on her forehead, and her deep, pink eyes stared at her just as intently as she was staring at her. Turning her attention back to her hair, Kagome noticed that the tips were not light like the rest, but instead they were a deep black. 

_"So light and then so dark,"_ Kagome observed silently. _"She's breathtaking…just like a new doll."_ She smiled at the little girl, her heart lightening a bit when a small grin was returned to her.

"Are you listening to me, girl?!" 

A sudden, harsh jerk on her ponytail forced Kagome's attention from the little girl back to the young man sitting next to her. She winced in pain as he tightened his grip and did not let go.

"Let go of me," Kagome demanded, her neck starting to ache from the strange angle it was being held at. Anger surged through her body when a sound hand connected with her face.

"You listen when I'm talking to you, girl," the boy said, raising his hand to make another strike.

Kagome closed her eyes, waiting for the slap.

"Let her go."

The soft yet stern voiced caused Kagome's eyes to snap open. There, standing before her and the brutal teenager, stood the little girl. She could not believe what she was seeing. Here among a bus full of full-grown men and other adults, only a small child had been noble enough to stand up to the young man.

"And what if I don't?" The rogue laughed cruelly at the little girl. 

The girl snarled, all previous evidence of innocence gone. "You will."

Kagome gasped. The little girl's deep, pink eyes burned like fire.

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

Kirara chirped sadly as she watched her mistress lay weakly on her sleeping mat. Sango was dying, and Kirara knew that she soon would not see her master again. But instead of remaining in her kitten form, the fire-cat transformed into her larger self and lay down next to her mistress. She could at least keep her warm. 

"Kirara," Sango smiled fondly as she reached up a gnarled hand to scratch her loyal pet's ears. "You always did stay by my side."

Growling mournfully, Kirara rested her head next to Sango's. It had to be hard for her not having her family with her. Her children had moved to a village far away after they married, and Sango was now all alone since Miroku had died a month earlier.

"Oh, Kirara, stop it." Sango laughed at the perplexed expression on her pet's face. "I will miss you, but do not mourn for me. I will be with Miroku again!" The thought of seeing her husband again filled the old demon huntress with anticipation. "And he had better not be chasing women when I find him either."

A long, broken growl erupted from Kirara, and Sango took it to mean laughter.

"Kirara?"

The fire-cat turned her head to Sango, leaving them almost nose-to-nose. "Watch out for Kagome when you all find her again. Take good care of her." She smiled. "And you make sure that Inuyasha gives her those letters, or else you give his ears a good tug for me. Okay?"

Kirara purred and nestled closer to her old friend.

"We were always partners in everything, Kirara," Sango whispered, her breaths becoming shorter. "Everything. And we always will be." She snuggled closer to her pet. "I love you, Kirara."

The fire-cat looked down at the woman who appeared to be sleeping at her side. Her mistress—her friend—was gone.

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

"This is the last time," the soft voice said. "Let her go."

The man growled and raised his hand. "No."

A sudden shout of pain erupted from the young man as he went to strike the little girl, and he released his grasp on Kagome's hair.  

Kagome rubbed the back of her head, gratefully turning her glance to the girl who spoke in her defense. What she saw caused her own chocolate colored eyes to widen. That small child had caught the hand about to strike her by the wrist, her small fist still wrapped tightly around it. And the harasser was shouting in pain. When she finally released him, a burn mark was left where the girl's hand had once been.

"How…what…how could…" Kagome stuttered.

Turning her beautiful face to Kagome, the little girl smiled reassuringly. "You are not alone, Kagome-chan." With that the little girl left for the front of the bus as it came to a stop and got off.

Turning around, Kagome noticed that the young man had moved to the other side of the bus, intent on staying away from women and nursing his injury. She smiled, wishing that she could thank the little girl, whoever or whatever she was.

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

"Strange day," Kagome muttered to herself, paying the man at the counter for use of the gym. "Thanks." Grabbing her receipt and running shoes, she turned and walked over to a bench and sat down to change her sneakers. She missed the intense stare of a teenage boy watching her.

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

He watched as she carefully leaned down to tie her shoelaces before going for her run around the track and cautiously put the weights he was using back on their rest. She looked exactly like she always had. Her wavy, black hair flew softly behind her as she raced around the track, quickly surpassing all other runners. He snorted. Of course she could outrun them! Anyone who did as much running as she had would be able to. Tears filled his eyes as starry nights around a small fire entered his memories. Oh, how he had missed those!

He quickly glanced around to make sure that his companion was not watching him. He was in luck. The man he was with had all of his concentration on what he was currently bench pressing. _"He's going to kill me,"_ the teenager thought as he raced off in pursuit of Kagome.

His pace matched hers easily and he soon found himself running along side of her. _"Just like old times,"_ he thought happily. _"Real old times."_

Kagome noticed that she now had a running partner and glanced curiously up at the boy running beside her. Green eyes smiled back at her. Gasping, Kagome quickened her pace. She knew she had not met him before, and yet he looked strangely familiar. Too familiar, but she could not quite put her finger on it. He was quite handsome, so she was sure she would have remembered him. But for some reason, his appearance brought tears to her eyes as old memories surfaced once again.

The young man frowned and sped up. Oh no, he was not losing her again now after all these years! His long, reddish-brown hair was tied back loosely in a low ponytail and swayed slightly as he ran. "Kagome, wait!"

Kagome stopped on the track and turned to face her pursuer. He knew her? "Who are you?" she asked cautiously as he approached.

Tears filled his eyes as he gave her a smile. "Oh, Kagome. Don't you remember me? He moved closer and grasped her hand. "Please remember me. Please, Mama?"

Kagome's eyes widened, and she felt her heart stop in her chest for a moment. That boy who looked to be her own age just called her "Mama." But it couldn't be. That was impossible. Her hand subconsciously reached forward and rested against his cheek as she stared him right in the eyes. Those beautiful green eyes were full of tears as he gazed at her just as intensely. 

"Shippo?" she choked.

He nodded, the tears falling down his cheeks.

"Shippo!" Kagome cried, throwing herself at her surrogate son. 

He laughed and picked her up and swung her around as she happily cried, kissing him all over his face like she would when he was little. His own tears of joy mingled with hers as their faces lay pressed together in a tight embrace.

Kagome continued laughing and crying, refusing to let go of him. He was still her baby as far as she was concerned, even if he stood taller than she did now. "You're so big! Picking me up…I used to do that to you…so handsome…you're here…it's been so long…I missed you...so big now…"

"I missed you too, Kagome!" He pulled back and swiped first at his eyes and then hers. "We've had to wait four five hundred years, and we finally found you."

A confused and hopeful look crossed her features. "We?"

Shippo opened his mouth to answer her when an all too familiar scent was detected behind him. He watched as her face paled and looked up at the man behind him.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome looked up at the man who had hastily pushed past Shippo, casting the boy an annoyed glance before turning his attention back to her. Violet eyes met hers as she felt herself slowing filling up with more tears and blushing. She held back a sob and rushed forward, tightly wrapping her arms around him. It was Inuyasha! Her hands clutched the long, black hair that hung loosely past the middle of his back as she cried into his chest, overjoyed at having him back again. She only cried harder as he held her to him just a tightly, softly scratching her back while tears of his own fell freely. Kagome pulled back and reached a hand up to his face. "You're crying?"

"Feh," Inuyasha growled. "We can't talk here. Shippo, let's go." Clutching her hand, Inuyasha led Kagome outside to his car as Shippo trailed closely behind.

Kagome climbed into the front and buckled up; Shippo crawled into the back. 

"You can drive, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked when he climbed in the driver's seat.

He buckled and started the ignition. "Why wouldn't I know how?" he answered, now fully adapted to the current times.

Kagome suppressed a smile. "I seem to remember a time when you thought a car was a demon…"

Inuyasha smirked and backed out of the parking lot. "That was a long time ago, Kagome. A long time."

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

They pulled up to a small, but nice apartment complex. Inuyasha expertly parked the car and growled at Shippo to get out. But he allowed Kagome to take her time, walking around and opening the door for her when she was ready. She smiled at him as she climbed out, reaching forward and taking his hand. He grasped hers in return, leading her up the stairs to the apartment he shared with Shippo and one other person.

Immediately, the smell of a home-cooked meal invaded her senses. Kagome looked about the apartment in amazement. For such a small complex, things certainly were roomy. A counter lined with stools separated the spacious living room and kitchen, another door leading to a hallway on its opposite side. Another hallway and two more bedrooms stemmed off from the right side of the living room while the third was on the left side of a hallway on the opposite side of the kitchen. A small dining room even lay just around the corner of the main room. 

"This is really nice," Kagome mused, looking at the old art adorning the walls. She smiled. It was from the feudal times. Even a few of Shippo's old crayon drawings were now framed and hung up.

Inuyasha approached Kagome and handed her a glass of water. "Shippo drew those four hundred years ago." He pointed to the more elaborate paintings. "It's a miracle they've lasted."

Surprised, Kagome turned to the teenage kit who was currently rummaging through the refrigerator. "You drew those?"

He nodded and pulled out an apple. "Do you want one, Kagome?"

She declined the fruit. "Those pictures are beautiful."

Shippo blushed and flopped down in front of the television. He began flicking channels, completely unaware of the look the hanyou was giving him.

Inuyasha glared and took the remote from his hands.

"Hey!" Shippo shouted. "What was that for?"

"Get into the shower now," Inuyasha ordered. "You smell like you've been at the gym all day."

Shippo frowned and transformed back into his normal self. Kagome gasped. Sitting before her was the same bushy-tailed, fanged kitsune she knew before, only he was older. He pulled his hair back into a high ponytail, and Kagome had to suppress a giggled when he tied it back with that same little blue bow.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and pulled a gold chain out from underneath his workout shirt. Once he removed it, the hanyou with long silver hair, amber eyes, and the cutest ears she had ever seen stood not even two feet away.

"I was wondering how you looked human," she said, fighting the urge to scratch his ears. "So this is what transform you?"

"Only my appearance," Inuyasha replied, handing it to her. "Youkai had to find someway to conceal themselves as the years went by. Not all of them can shape-shift like Shippo here." He handed his to Kagome. "They look like gold, but they're made from something called the Jewel of Dragon."

Shippo chose that moment to go and get something to drink, and Kagome playfully grabbed his tail as he walked by. He yelped and then turned to his surrogate mother, grinning playfully. 

"Not inside," Inuyasha warned. "Now, go get into the shower."

"You need to get into the shower too, Inuyasha," a soft voice said.

Kagome gasped in surprise. Standing before her was the little girl from the bus that had helped her. The brightly colored kimono had been replaced with pajama bottoms and a too-large t-shirt, and her elaborate hairstyle was now just a simple braid going down her back. Yet, those exquisite features were still there. She was still the prettiest little girl Kagome had ever seen.

She walked over and leaned down in front of her. "Thank you for your help today."

The girl giggled. "You don't remember me?"

Kagome smiled and shook her head. "I wish I did."

A sudden chirp erupted from the girl. Kagome stared startled and then watched in amazement as the small figure before her disappeared until the pajama pants and too-large t-shirt lay in a pile on the floor. The small bundle of clothing began to move, and a tiny fire-cat jumped out.

"Kirara!" she cried, scooping the animal up into her arms and hugging her closely. "It was you!" 

Kirara purred loudly and snuggled up underneath Kagome's chin. It had been so long! The feeling of home became closer as she cuddled up to her mistress's best friend. She still missed Sango greatly, but being with Kagome helped to ease the pain.

Inuyasha growled and fixed the fire-cat with a glare. "Kirara…"

 The precious kitten took a moment to growl at her roommate and then transformed back into the child. "He is so impossible at times, Kagome." She took her old friend's hand and led her into the kitchen. "Are you hungry?" 

Kagome nodded, and Kirara happily began fixing a plate of the food she had cooked.

"Shippo, shower," Inuyasha commanded once more. Shippo grumbled and reluctantly went to take his bath. Satisfied that Shippo was taken care of, he marched over to the kitchen and leaned over the counter. "Kirara, that's my shirt."

"All my clothing is in the laundry," came the soft reply.

"So do your laundry!"

"It's easier to get your clothing. Now, go get into the shower."

Inuyasha growled and then crossed the kitchen. His room was in the hallway on the other side of it. He stopped in the doorway, a somber look on his face as he looked down at the floor. "Kirara, please explain everything to Kagome. Tell her everything that has happened." He turned his amber eyes to look at them and then left.

The sad look on Kirara's face alarmed her.

"Kirara?" she asked?

"Sit down, Kagome." She motioned to the couch in the living room, and there she spilled the story of the last five hundred years.

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

Inuyasha slowly dressed and then sat down on the edge of his bed trying to towel dry his long, silver hair. He had finally gotten her back. After five hundred agonizing years of waiting, he had finally been reunited with Kagome. Life had been hard without her. He closed his eyes as an old pain resurfaced. Going through the deaths of their close friends without her had been one of the most difficult things he had lived through. She had always been there for him before. First Kaede had passed away. But her death had always been expected considering that she was old when they "first met" again. But then he, Kirara, and Shippo had painfully watched as Sango and Miroku slowly aged and eventually died. Tears stubbornly refused to flood down his cheeks as he stood up in search of a t-shirt since Kirara had taken the one he was going to change into. He could not cry. Not now. Not when he knew that Kagome was going to need him.

Sighing and giving up on the t-shirt, he flopped down onto the bed, lying on his back just as the door creaked open. He did not say a word as her scent filled his room and slowly became stronger as she made her way toward him. The salt from her tears was evident, and overwhelmed him as she sorrowfully lay next to him and buried her face in his chest. He simply pulled her closer and stoked her back, allowing her to cry.

And she cried for the next hour until she fell asleep.

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

Kagome awoke a while later and found herself warmly tucked underneath a thick quilt. She sleepily blinked her eyes, remembering where she was and then snuggled down deep under the covers. _"Inuyasha and Shippo brought me to their home. And I fell asleep in Inuyasha's room."_ Kagome smiled and turned her face to the pillow, breathing in deeply. He had the same scent that he had five hundred years ago. He still smelled of new earth, of the wind, and of a fresh spring. It comforted her, and she loved it. 

But she could not relax in bed forever. She sat up and stretched, noticing the dim fire in the fireplace. It was so different and yet so similar at the same time to their home in the feudal era. She smiled, deciding that a few more minutes would not hurt, and she once again wrapped herself with the warm quilt.

"Enjoying ourselves, are we?" Inuyasha said, walking over and sitting on the edge of the bed. "Feeling better?"

Kagome sat up, still under the covers, and brought her knees to her chest. "I'm feeling as well as I can. It's a lot to take all at once, Inuyasha." She smiled as he nodded and took her hand. "You've changed."

"Feh." He looked away, pretending to be annoyed at her comment.

"Well, maybe only a little," she giggled.

Inuyasha mumbled and moved closer to her. "How so?"

Kagome's breath caught as his features were lit up by the soft firelight. Oh yes, he had changed. She took a good look at the face that she loved so much. It was more chiseled than it had been before, giving him a more mature look while maintaining that boyish appearance all at the same time. The fine, silver hair reached an even greater length now, though not nearly as long as Sesshoumaru's had been, and his eyes were even a more golden shade of amber, if that was possible. Years of hard labor had honed his lean body. She glanced down at his broad shoulders and forced herself to look away. He was beautiful.  

"Kagome?"

She swallowed. "You're more patient than you use to be. More open…" she absently took a hold of the silver hair and began playing with it, "…more affectionate."

He chuckled. "Raising Shippo and putting up with Kirara will do that to you." He smirked as an old memory entered his mind. "Shippo slept in my bed for eight years after we first lost you."

Kagome laughed. "Did he really?"

"Yes, and then Kirara took over after Sango passed away."

He regretted saying it immediately when a dark shadow crossed her features and tears became visible as they sparkled in the firelight. "I'm sorry."

Kagome shook her head and forced a grin. "I just miss her. But Sango always knew everything. I never hid anything from her. We parted well."

Inuyasha nodded and thought for a moment. "It's important to make sure that you take care of things and not let them sit and wait out time. You never know when something will happen." He visibly scowled. _"And I still haven't learned that lesson."_

Kagome looked up at him, biting her lip. "You mean that?"

He nodded. "Honesty is important. I learned that the hard way. Don't live with regrets."

Kagome did not say anything and only looked down at the pattern on the quilt covering her, absentmindedly tracing the threads. She looked up when she felt a clawed hand under her chin.

"What's wrong, Kagome?" His amber eyes implored her for an answer.

"It's not important," she answered quietly, shaking her head. She stood to leave, but Inuyasha reached out and took her arm, gently pulling her back to sit on the bed.

"It is important. And you're not leaving me until I get an answer."

Kagome thought for a moment before speaking. "You said not to live with regrets." He nodded, and she looked him directly in the eye. "I have one regret."

"What is it?" he asked.

She paused again, not fully trusting the next words to come out of her mouth. "I have always regretted that when I kissed you it wasn't under different circumstances," she whispered.

Red filled her cheeks immediately, and she was grateful for the darkness the room allotted. Kagome could feel her face burning with heat and knew without a doubt that it had to be crimson. And the heat only increased tenfold as he drew closer to her, so close that his lips were almost touching hers. But instead of closing the distance, he remained at a tantalizing closeness. If she barely leaned forward…

"You're not breathing, Kagome," he observed quietly, slightly amused.

Kagome took in a short, sharp breath, trying desperately to fill her lungs with air. She failed miserably.

Inuyasha brought his lips down until they barely touched hers. "Why not?"

The contact was so light that she could not feel any pressure. But the feeling of them moving ever so lightly against hers only caused her breathing to stop again. "I can't," she hardly managed to whisper.

Inuyasha's eyes locked with hers before moving down to her mouth. "Do you want to?" He slid is gaze back up to her.

Kagome clenched her eyes shut. _"No regrets, and you will regret this later if you don't."_ "Yes."

"The go ahead, Kagome."

He did not need to say anymore. Her barriers were already broken, and she innocently pressed her lips to his. But she had not expected him to respond with the intensity that he did.

Inuyasha tightly drew Kagome into his arms, savoring the feel of her arms sliding up around his neck as he pulled her into his lap. _"She's not the only one who regretted those circumstances,"_ he thought, crushing his lips to hers even more as if he could not get close enough.

Kagome gasped as she felt his lips trail along her jaw and then down her neck, stopping at her shoulder. She shuddered and then pulled away.

"Kagome?"

She smiled, shaking her head. "We have to stop."

He raised an eyebrow, looking at her skeptically. 

Laughing, Kagome pushed his chest lightly and stood up. "Mom always taught me to be a good girl, and I'm going to hold to that."

Inuyasha groaned and fell back against the bed, covering his face with the pillows. Truth was, one of the things he loved most about her was her virtue. She always held to her morals, and he remained proud of her for it. Only this time it was more difficult on him.

"Stop groaning," she laughed, grasping his hands and pulling him up. "We should go find Shippo and Kirara."

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

"I called your mother and let you know where you were and what happened," Kirara said as she sensed them come back into the room. The little girl's form stood on a stool at the stove unhurriedly stirring a pot of soup. "Do you feel better now, Kagome?"

Kagome smiled and nodded as the fire-cat turned to face her. But the smile disappeared as Kirara's expression faded from one of contentment into one of pure horror.

"Are you alright, Kirara?" Kagome asked, wondering what had caused that look on her friends face.

Suddenly, the Kirara's face lit up like fire. "Higurashi Kagome, why are your lips that swollen?!" she demanded, as Inuyasha snuck around her with a spoon to sample the soup. The girl's form suddenly turned on Inuyasha smacking his hand with her wooden spoon as he tried to sneak a taste. "And you! Learn to keep your hands to yourself!"

Inuyasha glared at Kirara. She glared right back. 

"Don't give me that look, Inuyasha. Yours are just as swollen as hers. Kagome, he wasn't improper was he?"

Kagome giggled and shook her head. Oh, Kirara.

Inuyasha, on the other hand, was not at all amused. "Kirara," he growled, lunging for the girl.

But Kirara quickly popped into her kitten form, escaping his advance and racing around the kitchen, chirping wildly at Inuyasha as he pursued her.

Shippo, hearing all the noise, sleepily walked into the kitchen. "Good grief, Inuyasha. What did you do to piss her off this time?" He yawned and stretched.

"She started it!" he shouted chasing the tiny and chirping fire-cat into the living room.

Kagome simply sat giggling as Kirara successfully dodged every move that Inuyasha made toward her. But when the low growl sounded from one of the back bedrooms and Inuyasha came running back into the kitchen with a fully transformed Kirara hot on his heals, both she and Shippo doubled over in laughter.

"Kirara, not in the house!" Inuyasha demanded, avoiding one of the large paws trying to knock him over.

Kirara immediately changed back into the human child form and was back stirring the soup before Inuyasha even had a chance to recover from his dodge.

"Crazy Inu…" she muttered. Kirara added a bit of pepper to the soup, ignoring the ranting hanyou behind her.

Kagome grinned and hugged Shippo goodnight before placing her arms around Inuyasha from behind. He calmed down immediately. 

"Some things never change, Inuyasha."

He smiled and turned into her embrace. "I'm driving you home now."

Kagome nodded and reached up to scratch his ears before lightly kissing him. "Mom and Souta will love seeing you. 

Inuyasha looked up at his ears before placing the special golden chain around his neck once more. Kagome watching in amazement as his human form stood in front of her in mere seconds.

He smirked. "This time she can't get me."

Kagome laughed and took his arm as they headed out the door, calling her good-bye to Kirara.

"Good-bye, Kagome!" she called back. She turned back to her soup and started muttering. "Now make sure he behaves…"

A/N: Well, I really tried to get the whole thing done in one day, but it's just too late and there's too much more to write. I need sleep and already have to do my homework before class tomorrow. *Groans* I can do this. Oh well, give me some time and I'll have the next part up. I hope you all enjoyed. Please review. This is a load of work, and I would love to know what you all think. God Bless! ~ _Of Memories Past_


	2. Part II

DISCLAIMER: Nope, I don't own Inuyasha or anything to do with it.

You're not Alone

By: _Of Memories Past_

_Part II_

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

The scenery raced by on the darkened road as Inuyasha and Kagome silently rode back to Kagome's house, content to simply enjoy each other's company. Kagome remained surprised at what a good driver Inuyasha was; after all, it had not been long ago when the very idea of a moving mass of metal frightened him. Even if he refused to admit it. But he was so well adapted now and lived in her current era as if he had been accustomed to it all of his life.

_"Well, he has been,"_ Kagome though, sneaking a glance at Inuyasha. _"And now he knows more than I ever did."_ She pondered at the way the tables had turned and then reached out to gently run her fingers through his silky, black hair.

"What?" he asked, taking his eyes off the road a minute to give her a questioning look.

Kagome shook her head and smiled. "It's just that I haven't been able to see you as human very much." She continued playing with the ends of his hair, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of the strands falling through her fingers. 

Inuyasha scowled, though he did not mind that she played with his hair. "It's repulsive." He focused back on the road again with his hands tightly gripping the steering wheel. 

"Repulsive?" Kagome asked, her eyes wide with puzzlement. "Why would it be repulsive?"

"I'm weak when I'm human," he explained, turning into her driveway and shutting off the engine. "And whether I'm still a hanyou or not, being in this form reminds me of that." He frowned. "It's just unattractive."

The peal of laughter bursting from her startled him, and he turned to face her in the car. She only laughed harder at the bewilderment etched on his face.

"I don't see what's so funny," he bristled. Crossing his arms over his chest, he turned to face the window.

"Oh, Inuyasha," Kagome said, the mirth still abundantly resting in her eyes. She reached forward and lightly grasped his chin to turn him toward her. 

He allowed her to pull his face around, a slight frown still fixed on it as eye contact was made. "What?" His tone was curt, proving that he was still in a sour mood. 

However, Kagome simply smiled and brushed back the dark bangs, unbuckling her seatbelt so as to move closer. "Unattractive?"

"Feh."

"You're not unattractive in the least, Inuyasha," she said. Kagome lifted her face and kissed his cheek. "And neither are you repulsive." She kissed his forehead. "And you're never weak." She smiled and kissed his other cheek before a coy expression crossed her countenance. "How could you be if I loved doing this?" She leaned forward and softly pressed her lips to his, happiness filling her being when she felt him respond immediately.

"Kagome," he groaned as she pulled away, reaching out and drawing her back into his arms. His mouth found hers instantly, carefully caressing her own, and he knew that he would never grow tired of kissing her. It was dangerous what she could do to him.

Kagome smiled between kisses and wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning into his embrace more. She had missed him more than she ever could have imagined. "Inuyasha," she breathed when a low sound rumbled in his chest. He was purring? A small giggle escaped before he once again placed his mouth over hers. She laid her hand against his chest, aware of the vibrations deep within caused by his purring.

Inuyasha pulled away suddenly, smiling gently. "We have to stop."

"Why?" she whispered, running her hand over his chest. She missed the feeling of the vibrations.

Resting his forehead against hers, he kissed the tip of her nose. "Because you won't like where this goes if we don't."

Kagome blushed. "Oh."

He opened the door and climbed out, moving around to the other side to open Kagome's door for her. She was still blushing as she stepped away from the car, but nevertheless reached for his hand while they made their way up to the front door. They paused before they entered, Inuyasha giving her a smile of reassurance as she opened the door.

Kagome took a deep breath and reached for the door. She knew well that the next couple of hours would be full of nothing but questions. "Mom, I'm home!" She stepped through in front of Inuyasha just in time to see her mother racing around the corner. 

"Kagome!" She threw her arms around her daughter, holding her tightly. "We were so worried, and then your friend called. What happened?" She pulled back and looked at her daughter's smiling face. "Kagome?"

Mrs. Higurashi looked up as the tall, dark man entered her home and went to stand beside her daughter. She looked at him with wide eyes, her hand going to her throat.

Kagome swallowed, knowing that her mother had never seen Inuyasha in his human form. For all she knew, he was a complete and total stranger who brought her daughter home.

"Mama, it's ok. It's…"

"If you were interested in an older man, you could have at least mentioned it to me, Kagome." Mrs. Higurashi gave her daughter a stern look.

"Huh?" Kagome paused and looked at Inuyasha. Her mother was right. He did look to be at least twenty.

"How old are you, and who are you?" Mrs. Higurashi asked, bravely stepping up to the man with long black hair that had taken her daughter home. She fixed him with a glare, letting him know that no man was going to hurt _her_ daughter.

Inuyasha took in a deep breath, slightly annoyed that even though he was in his human form, he was not recognized in this house. "I'm over five hundred and fifty years old." He paused as Mrs. Higurashi's eyes widened to their fullest. "Mrs. Higurashi, it's me."

"Inuyasha?" She reached forward and grasped a fistful of the long, dark hair, her eyes full of wonder as she looked down on it.

Kagome stepped forward and carefully removed the golden chain around his neck and watched her mother with a smile on her face as the hanyou's normal appearance slowly changed back. Mrs. Higurashi seemed to be completely stunned as the man before her turned into the demon who had followed her daughter home time and time again only a year beforehand.

A sudden grin spread across the woman's face. "Oh!" she squealed reaching for his ears. "Inuyasha, I thought that we would never see you again!" After tweaking his ears, Kagome's mother turned and started walking to the kitchen excitedly. "I'm going to make some ramen!" With that, she disappeared, chattering the whole way and telling Kagome that she wanted the whole story later that night.

Inuyasha gingerly rubbed his sore ears before taking the necklace out of Kagome's hands and placing it around his neck once again. He sighed with relief after the transformation when he reached up to feel his ears and did not find them.

Kagome raised an eyebrow at the now dark-haired hanyou, wondering at the strange action.

He smirked. "They're safe now."

Laughing, Kagome went and put her arms around him, smiling even more when he laughed with her. 

Inuyasha held her out from him and looked down at her with a smile on his face before lowering his lips to hers and kissing her tenderly. He cherished having the freedom to do so.

Kagome sighed contently and closed her eyes, kissing him back. She knew that her mother would be busy in the kitchen for at least another ten minutes.

"Kagome, who's that you're kissing?"

"Souta!" Kagome gasped, pulling away instantly. Her face turned vibrant shades of red as she stammered her excuse. "Um, Souta, this is…"

But the little boy's lit up as he looked into the violet ones of the man before him. He walked forward until he was standing right in front of his sister's "friend." 

Inuyasha grinned lopsidedly. "Remember me?"

"Inuyasha!" Souta shouted, rushing forward to hug his hero. "What happened? You look human!"

Shaking with laughter, Kagome stepped forward and took her brother by his hand. "Sit down Souta, it's a long story."

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

"You're home late."

Throwing his keys onto the coffee table, Inuyasha collapsed next to Kirara's seven-year-old form on the couch where she currently read a book of Shakespearean sonnets. It had been a long day. The past few days had been long days. First they find Kagome again, and then work demands that he work late nights, trying to make a sudden contract deadline for the company he currently worked for. Another job amongst the hundreds that he had had. He pulled the humanlike fire-cat into his lap and began to gently stroke her hair and back, grinning as a high-pitched purr sounded throughout the living room. Human form or not, the small youkai still loved to be scratched and snuggled up under his chin just as she would have in her kitten form.

"Have a good day?" he asked, chuckling when she playfully swatted at his bangs. Some traits just did not change as a youkai switched between forms.

Kirara nodded. "I spent most of the day shopping."

He raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"Oh lots of things," the childlike Kirara grinned. "Grocery shopping, found some new clothes for you and Shippo, bought myself a few things. I even found a gift for Kagome."

"What is it?" he asked interested. 

"Just a small hair comb," she replied absently, "but it looks like the Goshinboku blossoms when they bloom. I thought she might like it." Kirara stretched and then affectionately pecked his cheek. She had come to love Inuyasha just as she had Sango over the centuries that had been together. "Dinner is in the oven, and Shippo should be home shortly. Do you need anything else?"

Inuyasha shook his head.

"Good. Then you won't mind if I get a little more comfortable." Kirara took her own necklace off and happily chirped as she regained her kitten form. Licking his nose, she bounded off the couch and into her bedroom to sleep.

Inuyasha sighed and walked over to the oven to take his and Shippo's dinner out. He quietly prepared two plates, set them on the table, and waited for the young kit to come home.

Sure enough, Shippo trudged tiredly into the house a few minutes later. His long reddish hair hung loose, an obvious sign that he was worn out. The green eyes were half closed as he barely made it to the table, sat down, and began to eat. 

"Tired?" Inuyasha asked, joining him.

Shippo looked up from his food and glared at Inuyasha. "Considering that I had to register for school and _all_ of Kagome's classes today so that I could keep an eye on her for you while she was at school—yes I'm tired." He took a bit of the salad that Kirara had prepared and glowered once again at his surrogate father. "And I'm mad at you." Stubbornly knifing his food, Shippo shoved a forkful into his mouth and chewed violently.

"Why are you mad at me?" Inuyasha asked calmly. He was too tired to argue. A total of four hours of sleep in three days did not settle well for even a hanyou.

Shippo settled back into his chair and continued glaring. "One, I'm stuck in school _again. _For the forty-second time, I might add. And two, Kagome has a health class."

Cautiously, the hanyou glanced at Shippo. He knew where this was going.

But Shippo refused to back down this time. "So I ask you again…"  
  


"Now, Shippo…"

"WHERE DO BABIES COME FROM AND WHAT IS SEX?!" The kitsune sat fuming in his chair. "And don't tell me that you'll tell me when I'm older again. You've been saying that for two hundred years."

Inuyasha was still staring wide-eyed at how blunt Shippo had been. He had never put it that way before. He grimaced, knowing that he had run out of excuses. "Finish your dinner and then we'll talk." Standing up, Inuyasha went to the kitchen to wash his plate.

"Oh yes, Dad," Shippo seethed. "We're going to have _the talk_."

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

Two hours and a string of curse words later, Shippo silently sat on the edge of his bed trying to digest everything that Inuyasha had just told him. Okay, maybe he should have waited another two hundred years to hear that. At the moment he felt rather sick.

"Happy now?" Inuyasha growled, standing up to leave. He craved sleep more than anything at the moment. But Shippo called to him just as he reached the door.

"Inuyasha?"

The hanyou sighed and stopped in the doorway. "Yes, Shippo?"

The sound of knuckles cracking together echoed in the room "If you ever do that to Kagome, I'll kill you."

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

Kagome climbed out of her bath, dressed, and brushed her hair out as usual before climbing into bed. She snuggled under the soft sheets, turned the light out, and was about to shut her eyes when a creaking noise turned her attention to the window. Curiously she sat up in bed, looking out into the dark night and shivering as a bit of cold air rushed in. Perplexed, she pursed her lips. That was funny. She could not see anything…

However, seconds later a clawed hand showed up underneath the window and raised the glass as quietly as possible. Inuyasha climbed into her room, dressed in the ancient red haori. The long, silver hair blew gently in the night breeze until he once again closed the windowpane. His amber eyes slid over to the resting form in the bed.

She held out her arms with a smile on her face, welcoming his warmth as he immediately went to them. "You're here late," she whispered, reaching up to scratch his ears.

Inuyasha nodded and buried his face into her neck, inhaling her scent and softly kissing the flesh there. "I needed to bring you some things."

"Bring me some things?" she asked confused. 

He nodded, shedding the red haori and pulling a small bundle out from the white yukata underneath. "This is from Kirara." He handed her the small blossom comb and watched with a smile as she ran her fingers over the delicate object. While she pulled the comb back in her hair, he reached back into the bundle and pulled out a framed drawing. "Shippo made this for you."

Kagome gasped. It was a picture of the shrine five hundred years ago! "Oh, it's beautiful! He draws so well." 

Inuyasha agreed before placing three rather thick, individual bundles in her lap. He remained quiet for a moment. "And these are from Miroku, Sango, and Kaede." He grasped her hand as tears once again filled her eyes. "They wrote you everyday until the day they died."

"Thank you," she whispered, placing the bundles aside and going into his arms. Her friends. They made sure that she would not have to live without them. 

Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her and lay back on the bed, holding her closely as the tears continued coming. He rested his chin atop her head as the sobs began to subside. 

"Feel any better?"

Kagome nodded. "These things just take time."

Inuyasha agreed, tucking her under the covers and pulling them up tightly around her. Even with tear streaks running down her face, she was beautiful. He leaned down and kissed her before heading for the window. "Tomorrow night," he asked cautiously, "are you busy?"

She shook her head and smiled as she watched him self-consciously bite his lip. 

"Spend the evening with me?"

Kagome nodded her head. "You know that I will.'

With one last smile, Inuyasha disappeared into the night.

"Goodnight," she whispered. Kagome hugged her knees to her chest and sorrowfully glanced at the small stacks of letters. She missed them terribly. 

Sighing she pulled out one of the letters that Sango had written her. The old paper was still in great condition. Kagome felt the tears start to well in her eyes again as she looked upon her friend's handwriting. Swallowing a sob, she began reading.

_Dearest Kagome,_

_     None of us could believe it when the well sealed. We tried for hours to open it back up, but it was hopeless. I cannot even comprehend the thought of never seeing you again. I hate the very thought of it. I hate that in five hundred years when you are born, I will not be able to greet you like the others will. But Kagome, I will not allow time to keep us apart from each other. You will still be here with me every day. I will miss you, my dearest friend, but we will get through this. It already helps knowing that one day you will get these letters of mine. Know that I will never forget you and will still always tell you everything as we both did before. I will talk to you again tomorrow!_

_Love,_

_Sango_

Kagome folded up the letter and placed it with the others before crawling back underneath the covers. The torrent of tears began once more.

A/N: Second part complete and more to come! Review please. I would great appreciate your comments. God Bless! ~_Of Memories Past._


	3. Part III

DISCLAIMER: Nope, I don't own Inuyasha or anything to do with it.

You're not Alone

By: _Of Memories Past_

_Part III_

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

     "Can't find anything to wear?"

     Kagome whirled around staring shocked that someone had invaded her room. Her hair haphazardly fell in her face as she randomly flung clothes out of her closet, none of them being quite right, and her cheeks flushed a pink tinge from the embarrassment of being caught in her panicked state. No matter how badly her room was destroyed, she had to look perfect that night. However, the site of the childlike fire-cat on her bed, watching her with a humorous gleam in her pink eyes slowly calmed Kagome's nerves.

     "Kirara," she breathed, shoving yet another article of clothing back into the closet. "How did you get in?"

     The little girl smirked. "Your mother let me in. I just had to explain who I was." A sudden frown crossed her face. "Though my ears still ache from proving it."

     Kagome laughed and started scooping up armfuls of clothing only to return them from where they came. "I'm sorry about the mess. It usually doesn't look like this." She bent down and picked up yet more clothes. "But I'm afraid I can't find a thing to wear for tonight and it might sounds pathetic, but I have to look perfect." Giving up on the mess, Kagome flopped down on the bed beside her friend. "How vain does that sound?"

     The melodic sound of a child's laughter filled her small bedroom, and Kagome looked down to see Kirara's small form shaking with mirth.

     Smirking, she playfully nudged the fire-cat. "Hey, it's not my fault. I have no idea what I should even wear."

     Kirara stopped laughing and stared up at her, obviously shocked. "You mean he didn't tell you where he was taking you?"

     Kagome shook her head, hiding a smile as Kirara rolled her eyes.

     "Men, they can be so stupid at times." She stood up suddenly and pulled on Kagome's hand. "Well, get up. We've only got a few hours to make you gorgeous."

     "What?" she asked, stumbling a bit as she tried to keep up with the girl dragging her by her hand. 

     Kirara stopped to look at Kagome and smiled. "I know exactly where you're going, and I'm here to help you get ready. But first tell me about you and Inuyasha." A sly grin crossed the fire-cat's face as she watched the shocked expression on Kagome's.

     "What…Kirara…" Kagome flushed and stuttered. "…there's nothing…no, not at all…nothing to tell." 

     But the look on her face said quite the opposite. Kirara shook her head inwardly as the miko continued to stutter and try to cover herself up. _"She's head over heels for him and afraid to admit it out loud. Well, we will just have to fix that."_ Kagome's face was as bright as a brilliant sunset by the time she stopped rambling, and Kirara merely smiled back at her.

     "Do you find it difficult to talk to a child about these things?" the soft voice asked.

     Kagome looked down at the floor and took a deep breath. "I suppose," she whispered. "I do miss being able to talk to Sango about these things." She stubbornly pushed back the tears that threatened to spill. The feeling of a small hand taking hers brought her attention back to her companion. "Kirara?"

     Pink eyes lifted to her own, a somber look on the child's face. "Kagome, Sango made me promise her before she died that I would watch out for you—take care of you. And I will forever hold true to that promise. But Sango did not only mean for me to protect you. I'm here to be you're friend. I know what you've been through, and you can talk to me about these things." Her look became stronger as she continued. "I know that I can never replace Sango; I have no desire to do so. But Kagome, please let me be now as my mistress was to you then."

     The soft voice and innocent looks were so deceitful. Kagome looked down and fully realized that the tiny Kirara she had always know was truly on the same level as grown woman—even in her child form. And she was also right. Kirara was the only woman around that she could talk to who would understand what she felt. She smiled with a fondness at her friend. 

     "Kirara," she began, "you've always been my friend. I guess I'm just having a hard time putting it together that you're so much older than you look." Kagome grinned. "But you are awful cute right now."

     "Well, let me make you feel a bit better about it then." Kirara stood up and walked a couple yard away from Kagome. "Stay back."

     Kagome watch in awe as Kirara quickly changed from the precious, little girl with a soft voice that she had been spending time with to a voluptuous women looking to be around Inuyasha's age. Her eyes widened. The pink kimono and blonde hair had disappeared. That unique innocence that had surrounded her was gone, and in front of Kagome stood the most beautiful woman she had ever seen.

     "Oh, Kirara," she breathed.

     "Remember that I do have a small and a _large_ form, Kagome," a sultry voice reminded her." She walked over and sat on the bed, motioning for the stunned girl to join her. "Now, where were we?"

     Oh, how the fire-cat had changed! The little girl was completely gone and in her place stood a woman measuring at least five feet and eleven inches—maybe even six feet tall. The once fair hair was now a deep black and cut into a short, somewhat spiky and trendy style. Her pink eyes remained the same, only now appeared to be more exotic, and the tailored and fitted, black pantsuit that she wore clung to her curves perfectly. 

     Kagome gaped at the exotic beauty in front of her and tried to picture the dirt covered, blood muddled, giant youkai that she was so use to seeing. But it became more impossible to do as she stared at the carefully line eyes that tilted upward exotically and the lips that were smeared in a frosted melon color. What she would have given to look like that.

     "You are beautiful," Kagome said, her lips still slightly parted from shock. "Do Shippo and Inuyasha know about this?"

     The deep, sultry voice laughed pleasantly as she shook her head. "Not a chance. I'll let them know when the time is right. Who knows? I could really pull one over on them one day." She stopped to wipe a few mirthful tears from her eyes as she crossed her right leg over her left, revealing the black stiletto heels that she wore. "But speaking of those boys, tell me about you and Inuyasha now."

     Kagome blushed again at the mere thought of the hanyou.

    "Ah," Kirara nodded wisely, "picking up from where you two should have left off, are you?"

     "Oh, it's so confusing and then so wonderful all at the same time, Kirara!" Kagome exclaimed, falling backwards onto the bed. "A year ago—or five hundred years ago—we defeat Naraku and complete the Jewel. Inuyasha calls me a wench, we start to argue, and then suddenly I feel myself being pulled towards the well." She braced herself on her arms so that she could face the fire-cat. "Next thing I know, all of you are holding on to me and pulling on me, trying to keep me with you. But in the end the well won." She looked down.

     "I remember that part," Kirara smiled. "Now tell me something that I don't know."

     Kagome sighed. "A year after I've been stuck here you all show up again." She paused to smile. "It was one of the best days of my life. Next thing I know I'm at your apartment, I hear the worst news of my life, and then I fell asleep in Inuyasha's room. Then…" her voice halted as she blushed a violent shade of crimson.

     "Then?" The pink eyes sparkled, encouraging her friend to continue.

     "Then the next thing I know he's kissing me like there's no tomorrow!" Kagome blurted out. "Actually, I think that I kissed him first, but still, I was kissing Inuyasha." She sat up looking miserable. "It was so different than from that time when we faced Kaguya, Kirara. That had been something that I had to do. Yes, it was nice when he kissed me back then, even if it was quick, but this time…I don't know. This time was special." A scowl formed on her face as another memory entered her mind. "This time he at least didn't tell me that he didn't mean to kiss me."

     Leaning forward and bracing herself on her knees, Kirara cracked a knowing grin. "Was he a good kisser?"

     Kagome grinned mischievously. "I could have died happy."

     Both women laughed with each other at that comment.

     Standing, Kirara wiped more tears from her eyes and pulled her friend up.         "Well, keep talking. But we have to get going if we're going to find you a new dress."

     "A new dress?" Kagome quickly pulled on her sneakers, prepared to leave her house to do shopping while looking like she was headed to the gym. "I don't have any money to buy a new dress, Kirara."

     Now it was Kirara's turn to grin mischievously as she pulled out a small, golden piece of plastic. "Inuyasha's treat. He's taking you to that new club. I think it's called _The_ _White Sands_."

     Kagome gasped, even if the idea of using his credit card provoked her dangerous side. "Kirara, we can't." And he was taking her to _The White Sands_? It was not like the dance clubs in the area, but more or less a high-class dinner restaurant, filled with soft music, wonderful and talented singers, and an elegant dance floor. She had wanted to see what it was like since it opened two weeks beforehand.

     "Oh yes we can." Kirara shoved her out the door, and they began to head down the stairs to the garage to borrow Mrs. Higurashi's car. Kirara had already cleared that with her. "Inuyasha insisted, and he can definitely afford it."

     Kagome buckled her seatbelt. "Really?"

     "Really," Kirara confirmed, igniting the engine and backing out. "Just ask him about everything he's accomplished in the last five hundred years. You'd be quite proud of him."

     Kagome grinned wickedly. Well then. "You know, Kirara. I could use a new pair of shoes."

     The fire-cat's deep laughter filled the car as they drove down the street. "That's my girl."

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

     Two hours and three hundred and fifty dollars later a weary Kirara slowly pushed her key into the doorknob of the apartment she shared, remembering to transform back into her child form before opening the door. No need to waste the means for a possibly good prank. So, it was the beautiful, little girl who trudge in and dropped her shopping bags tiredly on the kitchen table, ready to curl up and go to sleep right then. _"Why do I have to have such a long night ahead of me?"_ She smiled a bit as Inuyasha rushed out of his room, obviously anxious to hear about what had happened that day with his two girls.

     "You might want to button your shirt, you know," her soft voice teased, pointing to the open article of clothing. "Though Kagome may like it better that way."

     Inuyasha scowled and quickly buttoned the black dress shirt. "How did it go? Did she find everything she needed?"

     Kirara walked up to him and lifted her arms in the air, silently asking to be picked up. The little girl giggled. "You will love me forever, and I get a hug and a kiss because she is absolutely gorgeous." She grinned happily when he swept her up into his arms, holding her like one would a baby.

     Inuyasha kissed her nose and pulled her close. "Thank you, Kirara."

     She yawned and snuggled up under his chin. "I should be thanking you."

     "For what?" he asked, obviously confused.

     "For the ruby earrings," she murmured. Suddenly, Kirara gasped, realizing that she had just let the cat out of the bag about her little spending adventure.

     "The what?"  The dark look on his face did bode well.

     Kirara hurriedly popped back into her kitten form, bounded off of Inuyasha's shoulder and onto the kitchen table, grabbed the small shopping bag that held her plunder in her teeth, and raced into her room as quickly as she could. She barely made it with him hot on her heels. The kitten panted, hoping that he would settle down soon and leave so that she could get ready.

     "Kirara!" he pounded the door furiously. "Kirara, come out here and face it like a youkai!"

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

     Mrs. Higurashi desperately tried to suppress a proud grin as she watched Inuyasha's face when he first saw Kagome. Oh, how she wished she had grabbed her camera!     

     To say that Kagome was absolutely gorgeous as he watched her shyly make her way down the staircase to him was an understatement. The long, dark tresses of hair were done up elegantly into an upsweep, framing her radiant face perfectly as her cheeks turned a demure shade of pink. He could not help but let his eyes wander down her body, taking in every detail of the shimmering, white dress that she wore. Inch-thick straps rested at the edges of her delicate shoulders, the cut coming down in a "V" in the front. He was thankful that it was not too revealing. The dress came gently down to her knees in the front, hanging down a bit longer in the back. Not to mention that it fit her curves perfectly. And her face. He had never seen Kagome wear makeup before and though he preferred natural beauty, he could not say that what he saw did not appeal to him. As a matter of fact, her crimson lips as she took his arm were a little too tempting.

     Kagome's own thoughts tortured her as she got a good look at him. She had never before seen him dress up and found that she liked it very much. The black dress pants and shirt that he wore fit him perfectly, accentuating his strong form flawlessly. She could not tear her eyes away from his violet orbs as she greeted him, subconsciously running her fingers through his midnight strands of hair and bringing her hand to a rest on his broad shoulders. He looked as good human as he did hanyou. 

     "What time do I need to be home by, Mama?" Kagome asked, turning her attention away from the biggest distraction she had ever seen for a moment. It was going to be a long night no matter how late she could stay out.

     Mrs. Higurashi smiled and shrugged. "Stay out as late as you want. You just need to be back before daybreak." She handed Kagome her matching shawl and began to shoo the couple out the door. "Now have fun."

     "Mama!" Kagome protested. "Are you sure about this?"

     She laughed once more. "I know that Inuyasha will take good care of you. He always has. Now get going before you miss your reservation!"

     Kagome kissed her mother and then accepted Inuyasha's arm as he led her out to his car. Mrs. Higurashi did not miss the look of gratitude he gave her before leading her daughter away.

     She sighed once the car disappeared down the street, a worried hand coming up to her mouth for only a moment before resting back at her side with a smile. Normally, she would have never allowed Kagome out of the house in such a dress. Her daughter looked _too_ good in it. But as far as Mrs. Higurashi was concerned, that boy would one day be her son-in-law, and she trusted him. She lessened her strict rules just a bit in this special case.

     Meanwhile, Kagome sat nervously biting her lower lip. Inuyasha had not said one word to her all evening. She began to worry that she did not meet with his approval as the silence prevailed, hoping that she would not have to wake up from the dream she was currently living. 

     Suddenly, Inuyasha pulled the car over. Kagome started a bit as he unbuckled his seatbelt and moved closer to her, but did not find herself able to complain as he drew her face into his hands and heatedly kissed the lips that had been torturing him since he first saw her. 

     Kagome's eyes widened for a moment, surprised at his intensity before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. She could not complain, having wanted him to do so again since they had first kissed. Her fingers tangled in his hair as she pressed on his neck and tried to draw his face closer to hers.

     Inuyasha told himself to stop as he felt the youkai instincts becoming stronger, but it was easier said than done. His mouth firmly pressed against hers again before trailing along her jaw line and down the slope of her neck. 

     Gasping, Kagome pulled away when she felt his fangs graze her neck. Fangs. Not a good sign, especially since that necklace was suppose to keep his hanyou form concealed. She smiled at him gently and settled back down into her seat.

     Inuyasha also sat back, letting out a deep breath as his head fell softly against the back of the seat. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

     Kagome shook her head as a small laugh escaped. "I'm not." She smiled warmly when his questioning eyes turned her way. "But I will not allow you to lose complete control of yourself. It would be wrong of me. However…" she leaned over and kissed him one last time. "…I won't say that it is easy for me either. And that's why we need to be careful." Pulling back, she buckled her seatbelt and pulled the mirror down to touch up her lipstick.

     Inuyasha simply smiled and started the car back up, admiring her strength. He surge of pride rushed through him as they drove off, knowing that his Kagome held to her morals. Whatever the future held, he had faith that their relationship would be done right and done well.

A/N: Just a note: this is not and will never be a lemon fanfic. Sorry guys, I don't write that stuff. Never have and never will. But I do hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Next one will be all about their little date and getting to know a bit more about what happened in those five hundred years that Inuyasha, Shippo, and Kirara waited. Also, watch out for our little fire-cat! The playful side is coming out, and with Inuyasha busy it only leaves a certain kitsune to stop her…God Bless! ~_Of Memories Past_


	4. Part IV

DISCLAIMER: Nope, I don't own Inuyasha or anything to do with it.

You're not Alone

By: _Of Memories Past_

_Part IV_

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

     Kirara glared daggers at the unfortunate being that had discovered her secret. Her pink eyes burned like fire as she stepped forward and picked the cowering individual up from the floor and straightened him up, being sure to keep the stern look on her face. The poor boy.

     Shippo, meanwhile, got over his shock and fear and stared in awe at the beauty in front of him. Who would have thought that their Kirara had another form—another form that was absolutely stunning. She wore a deep, red dress that shimmered as she moved, the thin straps accentuating her broad shoulders.  The floor-length gown clung to her curves perfectly but still emphasized that beneath the gorgeous dress was a women who knew how to take care of herself. He smirked when he caught site of the ruby earrings dangling from her lobes.

     "So those are what Inuyasha was so pissed about earlier," Shippo said, laughing to himself.

     Narrowing her eyes, Kirara stepped forward and grabbed the young kitsune by his shirt. "Yes, they are exactly what he was so mad about, but he doesn't know what they were for." She growled and then let go of him.

     But now Shippo's curiosity was piqued. He raised an eyebrow and looked at his friend skeptically. "What exactly are they for?"

     Kirara growled again, clenching her fists at her side. Her secret had been discovered. All hopes of ever pulling a great prank on her two roommates had disappeared all because Shippo had been eavesdropping again. "I'm going to go and make sure that Kagome and Inuyasha's date goes perfectly." She frowned again before a smile slowly crept across her crimson lips. "Shippo?"

     Shippo saw that look and knew exactly what it meant. "I am not getting involved," he said, waving his arms in front of him as he backed off.

     A dark look took over her features. "You will if you know what's good for you." She caught the kit just as he went to turn and run. "Why don't you make yourself look a bit older, Shippo."

     Shippo cringed at the smile on her face.

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

     "Please?"

     Kagome watched as violet eyes slid her way once more, the annoyed expression that she had missed for a year appearing on his face. She had to keep from smiling. Her old Inuyasha was back. His mouth tightened slightly as he locked her with his eyes and narrowed them, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. Normally, she saw him do this while looking like a hanyou, his amber eyes burning with frustration. But even as a human, he had the look perfected.

     "Please," she tried again. 

     "No. I'm not taking the necklace off." He protectively reached up and grasped the chain around his neck to keep it from getting pulled off his head. "My ears have had enough for one evening."

     The sand sifted slowly between their toes while they continued their walk down the beach. It had been a bit of a drive to get there, but the starry, "moonlit night was beautiful. The drive had been well worth it. 

     Kagome absently reached for his hand, smiling when she felt his own wrap around hers in return. Stubborn, but sweet in his own underhanded way, Inuyasha had waited too long to sit back and argue with her just yet. She stopped all of a sudden, her shimmering dress swaying slightly in the breeze, and reached up to place a sweet, chaste kiss on his lips. Lightly wrapping her arms around his middle, she pulled herself closer, her head pressed against his chest as she listened to the steady beating of his heart. "I missed you so much."

     Inuyasha sighed and wrapped his own arms around her slight form. His chin rested atop his head as the night breeze carelessly tossed their black hair about and breaking one arm free of the embrace, he gave in to her request and removed the necklace that concealed what he truly was.

     When Kagome looked back up at him, she found herself staring into the amber eyes that she has missed for so long. Grinning happily, she threw her arms around his neck and laughed joyously. The unexpected impact sent him falling onto the sand, a still laughing Kagome landing on top of him. She ran her fingers through the smooth strands of hair and then reached up to scratch his ears gently.

     He reached up to kiss her before pulling her back down to him, softly scratching her back but being careful not to tear the fabric of the dress. He closed his eyes, knowing that he would never get enough of being around her.

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

     "Well, everything looks to be going well," Kirara said, sipping at her drink. "That club was nice, wasn't it, Shippo?" No answer. "Shippo?"

     The currently blond man in front of her stared viciously down at the pair lying in the sand. His, at present, blue eyes were narrowed in concentration, his hand tightly gripping the back of his chair. A low growl escaped his throat.

     "Ow!" he exclaimed as a sharp kick made contact with his shins. "What was that for, Kirara?"

     "You're going to draw attention to us," she growled, smiling nervously as a waiter passed by and looked at them suspiciously. "And be mature about it. Let them have a good time."

     The small café they sat at gave them a perfect view of the young couple down on the beach, simply enthralled with the opportunity to be in each other's presence after so long.

     "Look at them," Shippo snarled to the fire-cat. "You can just feel the love." He shuddered. "I'm going to vomit."

     Kirara's deep laughter filled the night air, her shoulders shaking slightly as she laughed at the fox demon in front of her. He was so overprotective of his surrogate mother. "Oh, Shippo, calm down. You know that Kagome is enjoying—"

     "Hey!" Shippo stood up and pointed from their table down to the beach. "Inuyasha, keep your hands—"

     A sharp tug on his dress shirt sent him tumbling back into his chair with a loud crash. Temporary, short and blond strands of hair haggardly covered his eyes, the blue orbs glaring menacingly out at the fire-cat as she calmly sat back in her seat and turned her attention back to her drink. Ignoring the stares from other tables, Shippo straightened himself up and stubbornly slouched in his seat.

     "Excuse me for wanting to protect her honor," he bit out venomously. "Did you see his hands?" Another sharp glance was turned back to the beach. "You'd think they were mates."

     "They will be one day." Kirara's pink eyes glanced up for only a moment before looking back out at the couple in the sand. She smiled slightly as she watched Kagome playfully take a hold of the hanyou's ears, refusing to let go until she got a kiss. "They were torn apart just as things were beginning. Torn apart when they needed each other. You yourself knew that this day would be inevitable."

     "They don't need to be all over each other."

     "They aren't!" Kirara cried. "Goodness, Shippo, what has gotten into you?"

     He remained in silence a moment, his eyes locked on Kagome, before answering. "She's my mother. I don't want her to get hurt. And with—"

     "That's not even an issue anymore, and you know that," she said, raising her hands into the air. "He's left that alone for five hundred years. You know how difficult things were for him."

     Shippo nodded and absently sipped at his drink, brushing at his bangs as the night wind picked up. "I know. Old habits I suppose."

     The fire-cat smiled warmly and reached forward to grasp the kitsune's hand. "That is it, Shippo. Just let them enjoy each other."

     "I suppose," he sighed, and he was in the process of letting things be when another sight sent his blood boiling. "His hands! Did you see—"

     "Please, Shippo," Kirara responded coolly. "His hands are only on her waist."

     "Too low."

     "Grow up."

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

     "So are you ever going to tell me what you did for five hundred years?" Kagome asked, smiling.

     Inuyasha sat down in the sand and pulled her into his lap. "Lots of things."

     "Like what?" Kagome asked, trying to pry more information out of him. "I want to know everything."

     He shrugged and began playing with a few strands of her hair that had fallen loose. "Took care of Shippo and Kirara, fought in wars, got a degree in nearly everything available, caused some trouble." He sighed and pulled her closer. "I had a lot of time."

     Kagome smiled and lightly kissed his neck. "You said you had a lot of degrees. Did you have many jobs?"

     "Feh. You name it, and I've done it."

     Kagome raised and eyebrow skeptically. "Lawyer?"

     "Hated it. Too many people lie."

     _"Hmmm,"_ she thought, _"this could be interesting."_ "Archaeologist?"

     "Even found a Tyrannosaur. Took forever to dig up."

     "Wars?"

     He took a deep breath. "Nearly every conflict in Japan, the American Revolution, World War I and II, Vietnam, and several others. We had to keep moving around ever decade or so, or people would get suspicious."

     "World War II?" she asked, amazed. "Tough war."

     The old, arrogant smirk quirked his lips. "You know, they say that Hitler committed suicide…"

     Kagome gasped. "Inuyasha, you didn't?!"

     He chuckled quietly. "I wish. But actually, Sesshoumaru got pissed first and did him in. Of course he made it look like suicide."

     "Sesshoumaru?" Kagome asked, bewildered. "He's still around?"

     "Yeah, alive and well."

     "I guess I had never thought that he would still be around," she mused before another occupation entered her mind. "Actor?"

     He shuddered. "Stayed far from that one."

     "Oh." Kagome paused for a moment. "Doctor?"

     Silence ensued her last question, and a saddened look crossed Inuyasha's features. "Yes."

     "Did I say something wrong?" Kagome asked, worried. 

     Inuyasha shook his head. "Just hard memories."

     "What type of doctor were you?" She lightly draped her arms around his neck.

     He blushed. "I worked in the delivery room with emergency births."

     Kagome brushed he silver bangs from his eyes. "Lose many?"

     "Some," he admitted, biting his lower lip.

     "It's ok," she soothed. "Things like that happen sometimes." She paused for a moment before laughing out loud. "I was actually one of those babies that caused trouble for the doctors. Mom told me that they almost lost me." She sat back with a pensive look on her features before continuing cheerfully. "But the doctor who delivered me was great. He had me out quickly and to my parents in no time at all, and I'm fine! Hey, you didn't deliver any of my friends did you?"

     "Yuka, Aymui, and Eri," he drawled out. "And they have been loud since the day they were born."

      She grinned, but the smile faded at the serious look on Inuyasha's face. "What's wrong?"

     Inuyasha closed his eyes, a painful, bittersweet memory surfacing in his mind…

     "Inuyasha, are you ok?" Kagome grew worried as she saw tears form in his golden eyes. She gasped when he suddenly took her hands in his. "Inuyasha?"

     "Fifteen years," he whispered hoarsely. "I had you in my grasp and then had to wait for fifteen years." His eyes clenched tightly as he tried to keep back the tears. "No, it was sixteen years. Sixteen long years, knowing that you were finally here."

     "Inuyasha, I'm lost," Kagome said, taking a hold of his face. "What are you saying?"

     He swallowed and took a deep breath. "I delivered you, Kagome."

     Kagome's chocolate eyes grew wide. "You…you delivered me?"

A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger (kind of cliffhanger at least). The next chapter is actually a one shot that I've written that coincides with this story, so forgive me if you've already read it. But the chapter after that should be interesting. A few more characters will show up, so we'll see what happens. And I also apologize for the late updates. I have had a serious case of writer's block lately, not to mention loads of work. But I'm not dropping any of my stories! Hope that you all enjoyed, and God Bless! ~_Of Memories Past_


	5. Part V

DISCLAIMER: Nope, I don't own Inuyasha or anything to do with it.

A/N: This is a flashback of Kagome's birth, and as I mentioned in the author's note in the last chapter, it is also one of the stories that I had written that went along with this one originally. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

You're not Alone

By: _Of Memories Past_

_Part V_

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

_     The heart monitor showed that the soon-to-be mother's condition was not improving. As a matter of fact, things were starting to get worse. The young nurse's eyes grew wide as the baby's heart rate took a dangerous dive, and her own heart clenched as the woman in labor stifled a scream as her own body reacted violently. Giving the mother's hand a gentle squeeze, she grabbed the statistics and left the room, taking off in a dead run as soon as she entered the hallway. He red hair flew behind her furiously as she ran down the hospital corridor as fast as she could. In this case, time meant everything._

_     "Get Dr. Ishinomori!" she ordered, bursting into the nurse's station. Her breaths came heavily, but the determined and grim look on her face told the other nurses that she meant business. One of them was already getting the doctor on the line. _

_     "What is it, Mieko?" one of the younger nurses asked. "What's wrong?"_

_     Mieko took a deep breath and carefully retied her long, red hair. "Mrs. Higurashi's baby isn't doing so well. The heart rate was already low, and it just took another risky plunge. But Mrs. Higurashi's fell with the child's. If we don't get that baby out now, they'll both die!" She paused and glanced at the nurse on the phone with the doctor. "Are you filling him in, Akane?" _

_     Akane nodded briefly and hung up a second later. "He's on his way now."_

_     The young nurse finished her sentence just in time to see Dr. Ishinomori tearing down the hall, his long, black hair flying wildly behind him as he hastily pulled on his scrubs. He stopped in the nurse's office only a moment to grab Mieko by the hand before running off again, nearly dragging the poor nurse the whole way. Mieko could only hang onto his hand for dear life._

_     Dr. Ishinomori had quite a reputation at their hospital and throughout others spread around Tokyo. Young as he was, the doctor had a wonderful, true gift. He had saved countless lives of mothers and babies in the three short years of his practice. The young, handsome doctor was always the first called upon in an emergency. And this situation was a definite emergency._

_     When he and Mieko finally reached Mrs. Higurashi's room along with a medical team ready to do a cesarean at a moments notice, they found the young mother struggling to breathe and bear the pain racking her body._

_     Under the young doctor's orders, the woman was immediately put under anesthetic and wheeled on her gurney to the emergency room. He followed behind rapidly quickly committing each of the vital statistics to memory. He frowned. Things did not look well at all._

_     Mrs. Higurashi was unconscious by the time they reached the ER, and in less than two minutes, the medical team was prepared to operate. _

_     Dr. Ishinomori looked at the unconscious woman in front of him and then at her worrying husband. He sat loyally by his wife's side, clutching at her hand. The man was determined not to lose his wife and first child. The doctor took a deep breath and then asked Mieko for the scalpel. He was not about to lose them either._

_     "How long?" Mieko asked, handing him the instrument._

_     His concentration fully focused on task at hand, Dr. Ishinomori made the initial incision before answering the nurse. "Sixty seconds."_

_     Mieko raised and eyebrow. "That quickly?" She watched as his deft hands carefully and quickly began on the skillful surgery._

_     "Sixty seconds, or the baby will die."_

_     Swallowing, Mieko continued to help with the surgery's ministrations, praying the whole time that the mother and child would be all right. Oh, she hoped that they would be okay._

_     Ten seconds later, a screaming baby girl entered the world. No one would have known that she had been so close to death with the way she hollered. The downy patch of black hair atop her head stuck up in all directions as her little, pink face scrunched up and let out another ear shattering howl._

_     After checking the child's vital signs and determining that she would be all right, Dr. Ishinomori carefully brought the baby over to meet her father. Tears of joy streamed down the new father's face as he reached out to hold his daughter while the doctor went back to check on his unconscious wife. It would be a while before she came out of the anesthesia. He turned his attention back to the screaming babe. His first child. And she was perfect._

_     A moment later the doctor came back to him, confidant that the mother was okay. "Let us clean her up for you."_

_     Mr. Higurashi held the baby out to the doctor, noting the tender look in the young man's eyes as he took his daughter in his arms._

_     Mieko came up to the doctor to take the child and do her job, but Dr. Ishinomori declined. "I'll do it."_

_     The red-haired nurse looked confused but nodded and moved out of the way so that the doctor could pass._

_     Tears immediately began to stream down his cheeks as soon as his face was turned away from the others in the room. It had been so long. Such a long journey, and here she was again. But he had almost lost her again. Tuning out the recent frightening memory, the doctor began cleaning her up._

_     The child howled loudly, not liking at all the bright lights and cold air. She wanted to go back to the warm place she was before, and she wanted to go back now._

_     "Sssshh," Dr. Ishinomori soothed, wrapping her in a blanket and holding her closely. _

_     The baby stopped wailing and curiously looked up at the individual holding her. Her deep, brown eyes tried in vain to focus her vision on him, making her look adorable as she went partially cross-eyed for a moment._

_     He chuckled. "So much ahead for you," he murmured. _

_     Suddenly, the baby girl broke out in a wide, toothless grin and held her small, chubby hands out to him._

_     Dr. Ishinomori choked back more tears and regained his composure before bringing her back to her father. He looked fondly down at her one last time before giving her up to her father's loving arms._

_     Mr. Higurashi thanked the doctor and looked questioningly at the young man. "You really love children, don't you?" The new father's confusion only doubled as the doctor nodded and painfully looked down at his daughter._

_     "Are you ok?" he asked, laying a hand on the doctor's shoulder._

     Doctor Ishinomori slid his glance up to the Mr. Higurashi and locked eyes with the man.

_     Looking into the violet eyes of the young man in front of him, Mr. Higurashi carefully contemplated the doctor with the unwavering gaze. There was something different about him. And just as that thought crossed his mind, the sudden image of a young man with flowing silver hair, amber eyes, and white ears atop his head invaded his mind's eyes. He shook his head before focusing more suspiciously on the man in front of him. The doctor's eyes never moved as if trying to tell him something. A quick flash caused Mr. Higurashi to gasp. He could have sworn that they eyes of the man who had just delivered his daughter flashed amber._

_     He then remembered the once annoying ramblings of his father-in-law. He looked down at his daughter incredulously before glancing back up at the doctor, a new understanding etched in his own gray eyes._

_     The doctor allowed his gaze to drop back to the child just a moment more before bowing respectfully to the man in front of him and turning to leave._

_     "What will you name her?" he asked, stopping in the doorway. His eyes were cast to the ground._

_     Mr. Higurashi smiled as he looked at his child. "Actually, we hadn't decided yet. Any suggestions?"_

_     Dr. Ishinomori looked up for only a moment more. "Kagome." With that he left._

_     "Kagome," Mr. Higurashi repeated. "It's a pretty name." He looked down at his daughter and grinned. "What do you think? Does Kagome sound like it will fit you?"_

_     The baby girl erupted with laughter and reached up to her father._

_     Laughing, he leaned down and kissed her little nose. "Then Kagome it is. Higurashi Kagome. I like it."_

_     Kagome chose that moment to yawn and snuggle down into her blanket to sleep. It had been a long day for her._

_     Unknowingly, a certain young man watched carefully from around the corner. He ran a hand through his long black hair and sighed as he tried to suppress more tears. "Fifteen years," he thought. "Almost there." He turned one final glance to the new family and smiled before walking off._

_     It was time to disappear again…but he would be back in fifteen years._

A/N: Hope you enjoyed, and I'm trying to keep chapters coming without making them horrible. Writer's block. Please review! I appreciate you comments. God Bless! ~_Of Memories Past._


	6. Part VI

DISCLAIMER: Nope, I don't own Inuyasha or anything to do with it.

You're not Alone

By: _Of Memories Past_

_Part VI_

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

     Kagome chewed her bottom lip as she looked down at the key in her hand, and a quick glance up to the door in front of her sent her gaze right back down to the shiny, silver object. He had handed it to her the night before after receiving the shock of her life, telling her that she was free to use it anytime. _"Don't hesitate to come if you need me,"_ he had said. _"Or if you just want to visit."_ She smiled slightly as the memory of him telling her that his home was her home entered her mind. Home. Yes, this place was home to her also. Home was wherever he was. And their home was together. A new resolve in her mind, Kagome got over the feeling that she was invading and pushed the key into the keyhole.

     Shippo looked up from his drawing with a smile on his face as his favorite raven-haired human came through the door. "I'm glad that you decided to finally come in, Kagome." He got up and went to give her a hug. "Don't ever hesitate about it again!"

     Kagome blushed slightly as she returned the hug. "I guess I have to get use to the idea that I can just walk in. I mean, what if I accidentally—" Her words stopped as Inuyasha turned around the corner wearing only a white towel. His long, wet black hair was plastered against his back as he unsuspectingly waltzed into the kitchen and to the refrigerator to take out a carton of milk. He lazily unscrewed the cap and raised the carton to his lips, not noticing that they had a visitor.

     Shippo snickered. "Two points for Inuyasha."

     The said of person stopped drinking and turned violet eyes to the laughing kitsune. He immediately found his mistake as a furiously red Kagome averted her gaze from the kitchen. Inuyasha suppressed a blush and instead turned and annoyed glance to Shippo. 

     "Two points?" He screwed the cap back onto the carton and placed it in the fridge. _"Don't let it bother you,"_ he told himself.

     Ignoring the glare sent his way, Shippo merely smiled. "One point for Kagome here catching you in a towel. Two points for Kirara catching you drinking out of the milk carton again."

     All the color immediately drained from Inuyasha's face as he looked across the living room only to find a tiny, yet steaming fire-cat standing in the entrance of the hallway. Her vibrant pink eyes burned angrily as she watched him carefully close the refrigerator. He was so dead.

     A livid chirp erupted from the small fire-cat as she dashed across the living room and into the kitchen as quickly as lightning. That was the last time he would drink from the milk carton! She skidded across a floor mat, hot on the heels of the guilty party, chirping wildly the entire time.

     Inuyasha, on the other hand, knew he was in for it as soon as he saw her coming. Last time she had caught him it ended up with him losing a lock of hair. So, Inuyasha did what any responsible, intelligent, full-grown man would do…he ran. And he ran hard.

     Kagome watched with wide eyes as the two demons played a violent game of cat and mouse in the kitchen, bouncing off the countertops and the stove before bringing the chase out into the living room. She was secretly amazed at how Inuyasha kept the towel wrapped around him the entire time. A blur of black flew past her and another smaller blur of cream colored fur soon followed.

     "What out for my drawing!" Shippo shouted to Inuyasha in the nick of time. The hanyou agilely leapt over the couch where the fox had previously been sketching. 

     However, Kirara knew the old "leap over the couch and get away" trick, and she had positioned herself on the other side, ready to snap as soon as he landed. 

     Inuyasha saw her in the nick of time, leaping far enough to somersault into the hallway as he hit the ground. The towel miraculously stayed in place.

     "Does this happen often?" Kagome whispered to Shippo. The crashing and banging of random objects was heard in the back room where the two youkai currently battled.

     Shippo shook his head. "Maybe one or twice a month."

     "Oh."

     That said, Inuyasha shot by them one final time, making a break for his room with an irate Kirara ready to chew his heels off. The pair disappeared around the corner, out of the spectators' sights. There was one final, loud, and angry shout before silence filled the apartment.

     Not two seconds later, Kirara trotted into the kitchen, obviously pleased with herself as she came into sight with a white towel in her teeth. She pranced happily up to Kagome and dropped the object at her feet.

     Kagome blushed and picked up the towel before lightly scratching Kirara's ears. "You are a mischievous one, aren't you?"

     Kirara transformed into her childlike state and smirked. "I had fun." She walked over to Shippo and raised her arms to be picked up. "That will be the last time he does that." Her sweet, little face took on an annoyed look for just a moment before relaxing again. "I needed that for dinner tonight."

     "Kirara!"

     Three pairs of eyes looked up to see a half-dressed Inuyasha storming out of his room. He had removed the concealing necklace, so it was his fuming, amber eyes that met theirs as he marched right up to the small child. 

     "Yes, Inuyasha?" Kirara calmly faced him, showing not a care in the world in her fiery eyes.

      Then hanyou growled, irate with the fact that his towel had literally been ripped off his body just for drinking out of the milk carton. "Don't. Do. That. Again," he stressed. He turned to Kagome and motioned for her to follow him back into his room. 

     "Nice ass," Kirara called out playfully, grinning widely when he froze in the hallway entrance. 

     Inuyasha slowly turned around, ignoring the blushing Kagome. He grinned impishly as his claws dug into the wall. "Kirara, I'm going to kill you." With that, he grabbed Kagome's hand and headed toward his room.

     "Will you wear the towel when you do?"

     Shippo stifled laughter at the fire-cat in his arms. She may have looked seven, but her language surely suggested otherwise.

     The soft voice, however, had reached Inuyasha's sensitive ears. Kagome had to hold him back from charging right back into that room and letting Kirara have it.

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

     Kagome sat back and watched as Inuyasha violently buttoned his shirt and tucked it in. He was mumbling something not completely coherent about hiding Kirara's litter box and shaving her fur off while she slept, and was so involved with his thoughts that his claws accidentally caught on his shirt, successfully ripping a huge hole into it. He growled and threw the torn garment aside before dropping onto his bed, obviously frustrated.

     "She's going to get it." He growled again as he reached for a comb and began yanking it through his long, silver hair. "Always manages to do something to piss me off."

     Kagome suppressed a smile as the hanyou she had known for so long slowly resurfaced. Yes, he was more moody that way, but he was still the person she loved. She positioned herself behind him on the bed and took the comb from his hands, taking over the task of brushing out his hair.

     "You need to relax," she soothed, gently running the comb through the fine, silver strands. "She does it just to get a reaction out of you."

     He crossed his arms stubbornly and shut his eyes. "Feh, she always succeeds too. She knows all the buttons to push."

     Kagome smirked. "Don't like losing your cover?"

     Inuyasha scowled. "Not particularly."

     Finishing with his hair, Kagome laid the comb aside and wrapped one arm across his chest and the other around his waist. "I really had fun last night. Thank you."

     "Even after everything you found out?" he asked, relaxing into her touch. He was slightly surprised when Kagome took the initiative to move and sit in his lap, but he did not argue.

     She slipped her arms around his neck. "Why would it bother me that you delivered me?"

     He watched as she slightly tilted her head to the left, her large, brown eyes questioning him. He swallowed. She looked so cute sitting there with him, her lips slightly pursed as she waited patiently for an answer. Her lips. Unlike the crimson color she wore the previous night, they were now painted a soft, glossy pink, and they shined brilliantly in the dim lighting of his room. Not able to help himself, he leaned forward and lightly pressed his mouth against hers, gently grasping her bottom lip with is teeth as he pulled back.

     "Just might," he whispered, searching her eyes. He noticed the rosy blush in her cheeks as she looked down, slowly raising a hand and gingerly touching her bottom lip. When her gaze met his again, he could see her eyes sparkling a bit.

     "It doesn't bother me, Inuyasha," Kagome returned just as quietly. She gasped when he leaned forward suddenly, feeling the soft pressure of his lips against her neck. But she did not particularly want him to stop at the moment either. Tightening her arms around his neck, Kagome pulled him closer as he slowly made his way back to her lips, forcefully locking them with his. She took a sharp breath when he slipped his tongue between her teeth and began massaging the roof of her mouth, tasting as much of her as he could. A small noise escaped her as she blushed and pulled back. Again, she raised her hand to her lips, keeping her gaze down as she felt the heat rise in her cheeks.

     "I'm sorry," he whispered, giving her a small smile. "Too fast?"

     "Of course it's too fast. She pulled back didn't she?"

     Inuyasha and Kagome's eyes grew wide at the new voice that spoke up. Looking into the now opened doorway, the saw a tall man leaning against the frame, his arms crossed carelessly over his chest as he raised and eyebrow at them curiously.

     Inuyasha growled and gently set Kagome aside. "Only you would have such great timing." He got up and crossed the room and pulling the man in, closed the door. "What do you want this early in the morning?"

     Curiosity piqued in Kagome as she got a good look at the man. Short stands of dark, black hair hung chaotically in his eyes, giving him a rouge-like appearance. And those eyes. They were the same color as Inuyasha's when he was in his human form, only they were a bit more lavender. No questions asked, the unruffled man casually leaning against the wall was quite handsome.

     "Inuyasha," Kagome asked, standing up and moving closer to get a better look. "Who is this?"

     The man turned and looked at her. "You don't remember me?"

     "You probably traumatized her several times, you moron," Inuyasha grumbled.

     Choosing to ignore the hanyou, the man stepped forward, narrowing his eyes as he looked at her. "You don't, do you?"

     Kagome swallowed, slightly uncomfortable under his stare. "You're voice sounds familiar," she admitted.

     He smirked all of a sudden. "Maybe this will help your memory?" Reaching into his shirt, the man pulled out a golden chain similar to Inuyasha's and unhooked the clasp. The transformation took a moment, but the small smile could not be hidden from his face as his true form was exposed to the girl.

     "Sesshoumaru," Kagome breathed, taking a step back.

     Sesshoumaru shook his head and smirked. His amber eyes showed suppressed humor. "Calm down, girl. You don't need to be afraid of me."

     "I don't?" Kagome said, feeling brave all of a sudden and angrily stepping forward. She pushed a finger into his chest. "Do you remember how many times you tried to kill me?"

     Inuyasha sighed and stepped between Kagome and his brother. "Sesshoumaru and I and worked out our past and differences, Kagome," he eased. "Took a while, but he's actually kind of fun to have around now." He glanced lightheartedly at his brother. "But this was not one of those times."

     The older demon laughed and stepped back, his long, silver hair flowing with the movement. "Kirara said I could come right on in. You two are arguing again, aren't you?"

     The hanyou growled and flexed his claws. "She's dead."

     Kagome grabbed his arm before be could move out the door. "Leave her alone. You're just letting her win."

     Sesshoumaru smirked and shook his head again. "Actually, I'm not just here for a visit this time."

     Inuyasha motioned for him to sit and then sat back down on the bed. Kagome joined him. "What are you here for then?"

     "First, work's been cancelled today," he said, running a hand tiredly through his bangs.

     "Work?" Kagome turned to Inuyasha. 

     Inuyasha nodded. "I work for the company he owns."

     "Oh." Kagome thought for a moment before turning her attention back to the two brothers.

     "What else, Sesshoumaru?"

     The grave look in his amber eyes did not bode well as his glance slid to Kagome for a moment. "The second reason concerns the Jewel…and Kikyo."

     Kagome's heart stopped. "Kikyo?" She turned questioningly to Inuyasha.

     He simply stared at his brother, his lips pressed in a grim line.

A/N: Sorry about the cliffhanger. Trying to get as much done as I can. Hope you all enjoyed, and please review! God Bless! ~_Of Memories Past_


	7. Part VII

DISCLAIMER: Nope, I don't own Inuyasha or anything to do with it.

You're not Alone

By: _Of Memories Past_

_Part VII_

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

     "Kikyo?" Kagome's hand went to her chest as she took a step back and sat once again on the soft bed. She seemed to have suddenly gone pale. Her breaths were sharp and ragged as she tried to take in air. 

     "Kagome?" Inuyasha asked. 

     "Kikyo," she repeated again. The normally vibrant, dark eyes were a stark contrast again her paled skin. A sudden red flush crept into her cheeks as she tried to steady herself on the bed and with a sudden bout of courage and strength, Kagome stood up and angrily looked at Inuyasha. "You didn't tell me she was still alive."

     Inuyasha scowled and glared at her. She did not have any reason to be getting angry with him. He had not even done anything yet. All he had done was be nice. "I hadn't exactly gotten around to it yet!" 

     The vehement reply was not at all what Kagome had needed to hear. "You _haven't _changed have you? What were you going to do? Use me and then go back running to her again when she showed up?"

     "You're overreacting, Kagome," Inuyasha growled. He walked over to his dresser and pulled out a t-shirt. If he did not have to work today, then he was not going to bother with the uncomfortable dress shirt. "I haven't been involved with her for _years_." He furiously worked at the buttons before giving up and ripping the shirt over his head to replace it with the more comfortable one.

     Kagome laughed disbelievingly. "How am I suppose to believe you when every time you thought I wasn't around, you went running back to her." 

     Inuyasha whirled around, his amber eye flashing. "That's unfair, Kagome!"

     "Unfair?" She inquired, taking and angry step forward. "Unfair is me having to wonder whether or not the person I care about is going to end up in hell." Kagome's next steps wavered and the red flush in her cheeks became deeper. "Unfair is sitting back and watching you kiss and embrace her while I myself receive mixed signals. Unfair is…" She stopped for a moment, a hand going to her head as her balanced dithered. Her eyelids began to droop. "Unfair is…"

     She passed out.

     "Kagome!" Inuyasha rushed forward and caught her in his arms as she descended to the floor. He looked down at the unconscious girl in his arms. Even though unconscious, she did not seem to be at peace. Lines of stress were etched in her face and her brows were still slightly knit together. His eyes clenched shut as he brought her closer to his chest. "Is that what you've thought all this time?"

     Sesshoumaru, having kept silent through the whole dispute, laid a hand on Inuyasha's shoulder. "Can you blame her?"

     Inuyasha turned his face to his brother and frowned. "I waited _agonizingly_ for five hundred years to see her. I thought she would know."

     The older demon smiled sadly and shook his head. "You still have so much to learn, Little Brother."

     Inuyasha growled and lifted Kagome.

     "Don't growl at me, youngling," Sesshoumaru chuckled. "I know what I'm talking about." He turned his golden gaze to the girl in his brother's arms. "Bring her out to the couch. We need to wake her."

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

     "I don't even want to know what you did," the childlike Kirara voiced, draping a cool cloth over the sleeping girl's forehead. "How long has she been out?"

     "Just a few minutes," Sesshoumaru answered. "Her and the runt had a little argument."

     Fiery pink eyes snapped up to the hanyou, glaring angrily. "Why did you upset her? Do you know how overwhelming these last few days have been for her?"

     "Kirara, I don't need this from you right now!" Inuyasha shouted. "So shut your mouth!"

     Kirara stood up and closed her eyes. A second later, a tall woman stood in her place, reaching out to grab the hanyou that matched her height by his shirt. "I'm telling you to loosen up on her."

     Inuyasha quickly got over the surprise of seeing Kirara turn into a full-grown woman and pushed her arm away from him. "You don't even know what you're talking about!"

     Sesshoumaru glanced her way and mouthed "Kikyo."

     Running a hand through her short black hair, the fire-cat sighed and sat back down on the couch next to Kagome. She dipped a cloth back into the bowl of cool water resting on the coffee table and began to sponge the side of Kagome's face, praying that the girl would wake soon. The sooner the mess was settled the better. She did not want to be living with Inuyasha while he was irate. He was always impossible when like that. 

     Shippo chose that moment to walk into the room and smirked when he saw the transformed fire-cat. "What's shakin', Sexy?" He winked at her.

     Kirara smiled seductively before bursting out with laughter. Shippo laughed with her and walked over to join his small group of friends. The laughter left his body when he saw Kagome lying unconscious on the couch. 

     "What happened to Kagome?" The tone in his voice revealed his obvious worry.

     Kirara opened her mouth to spill the truth, but a sharp look from Sesshoumaru made her think twice. At the moment it would be better not to get the kit riled up. "Just too much information at once. It was a bit overwhelming for her." 

     Well, it basically was the truth. She gave the cloth over to Shippo and stood up to go to the kitchen. The poor girl. Kirara knew that whenever either Shippo or Inuyasha were overwhelmed a good cup of soup and coffee usually fixed the problem. And considering that Kikyo was involved, Kirara figured that it would take a pretty decent cup of soup for Kagome to feel better. And better substitute the coffee for hot chocolate. 

     "Where are you going?" Inuyasha demanded, as she passed him by.

     "Kitchen," she snapped. All of a sudden, Kirara raised her hand into the air and slapped Inuyasha across the face. Hard.

     Sesshoumaru and Shippo stared in shock.

     The hanyou reeled back a bit from the force. That slap had stung. But he soon recovered and was glaring dangerously at the fire-cat. "What was that for?!"

     Choosing to ignore his anger, Kirara slowly turned away and headed toward the kitchen again. "Sango told me to let you have it if you ever upset her." 

     With that she disappeared behind the counter. The noise of pots and pans crashing together was heard as she searched for the right pot to start her soup.

     Inuyasha held back from growling obnoxiously loud. "Thanks a lot, Sango," he muttered under his breath. 

     "Feisty little thing, isn't she?" Shippo grinned. 

     "Shippo?"

     Kagome's soft, confused voice turned his attention immediately to his surrogate mother. Her brown eyes fluttered open, still slightly dazed over what had happened. She groggily sat up with his assistance putting a hand to her head as another wave of dizziness flooded over her.

     "Take it easy," Sesshoumaru warned, going to her side and helping Shippo get her up. "You should not stress yourself right now."

     "Stress?" Kagome muttered sardonically. She allowed the two youkai to help her up and leaned into their hold for support. Now sitting up fully on her own, the girl's eyes rested on the one cause to her anguish, and her own orbs narrowed dangerously. "I don't want to talk to him right now."

     Inuyasha threw his hands up in defeat, taking a few steps closer to Kagome. "You didn't even give me a chance to explain, wench!"

     "Give you a chance to explain?" She laughed incredulously, though she visually flinched at the insult. "What is there to explain? Kikyo is still alive. The woman that you _loved_ and ran to time and time again while I sat right under your nose is still alive." Tears of anger and hurt began to burn in her eyes as she hastily reached for her purse. "I am not setting myself up for heartache again, Inuyasha. It hurts _too_ much." 

     Kagome threw an apologetic look to Kirara, Sesshoumaru, and Shippo as she walked to the door. "I'm sorry. I don't think that this is the best time for me to visit."

     "It's okay, Kagome." Kirara walked up to the distraught girl and wrapped her arms around her form. Anger seeped through her being as Kagome immediately broke down crying. She threw a blistering glare toward Inuyasha before pushing the sobbing girl back to look at her. "Shippo's going to drive you home, okay?"

     Wiping at her eyes, Kagome mustered a small smile for the fire-cat.

     Kirara smiled back at her. "Good. Now take this. It will make you feel better." 

     Taking the two thermoses that Kirara handed her, one of soup and the other of hot chocolate, Kagome voiced her thanks and headed out the car. 

     Shippo followed behind her, snatching Inuyasha's keys as he made his way out the door. "I'm taking your car, Jerk." He sent one final glare toward the hanyou before slamming the door behind him.

     "Fine, I don't care!" Inuyasha slouched onto the couch, crossing his arms stubbornly over his chest. He sat wallowing in self-pity until her felt a pair of eyes burning into him. Looking up, he found his brother staring sternly down at him.

     "What?" he asked rudely.

     Sesshoumaru simply shook his head. "You have a lot to learn, Pup."

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

     "He just doesn't understand, Shippo!" Kagome lay on her stomach, her arms entangled around the pillow on her bed as the kit soothingly scratched her back and let her vent. Though, he did not like the tears that had ceased to stop since they left the apartment. 

     "It's okay, Kagome," he soothed, secretly vowing to pound Inuyasha over the head as soon as he got back home. "He's just too ignorant for his own good."

     Kagome sat up and looked at Shippo with tearful eyes. "He'll go back to her again, Shippo. He always does." A fresh bout of sobs took over her body.

     Shippo took the girl he considered his mother into his arms and stroked her back. "It will be okay, Kagome." He simply held her as she cried. "It will be okay."

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

     "I'm not doing it."

     If one thought that Sesshoumaru was a frightening being in his natural form, then that individual had never seen the dark and threatening glare that he currently bestowed upon his younger brother. His amber eyes flashed dangerously for a moment before a devious and sickly sweet grin covered his normally passive features. Calmly, he made his way toward the hanyou seated on the couch. It did not matter to him how stubborn his brother could be. It did not matter that his brother had a terrible temper when things did not follow the lead he wanted them too. And, it did not matter to him that Tetsusaiga was in the other room. For all he cared, Inuyasha could allow his demon blood to take over if he became angry. He would still get his point across.

     Inuyasha dropped the stubborn glare on his face as he watched his elder brother slowly come toward him. The uncanny grin on his face engrained an uneasy feeling in him. His eyes opened wide as that smile suddenly turned devious.

     "Don't look at me like that," his voice cracked as Sesshoumaru got down in his face. The "tough guy" pretense that he showed to the world cracked, and he reached for a throw pillow, clutching it to his chest. "St…stop it, Sess…Sesshou…" he swallowed, noticing the grin growing more sugary. "Sesshoumaru?"

     His movement came quicker than lightning. Sesshoumaru's hand shot forward and had wrapped its clawed fingers around the hanyou's throat, constricting the air passage just enough to keep his brother's full attention. The menacing smile had disappeared from his face, and he lifted his current prey into the air until his feet dangled above the floor.

     Sesshoumaru growled for good measure before delivering his orders for the last time. "You will go, and you will buy a dozen roses. _Red_ ones. You will dress up nicely, and you will go and apologize to her, setting everything straight before you _kiss_ that girl better than you ever have before." His grip tightened. "And you _will _swallow your pride and do all of this, or by the grave of our father, _I will kill you!_"

     Inuyasha raised his own clawed hand to those constricted around his throat. "Sesshoumaru," he wheezed, "I can't breathe."

     "Do you understand me?" He was not going to let go until he got that stubborn boy to shape up and agree.

     "Yes," he barely breathed out.

     "Good." Sesshoumaru smirked and promptly dropped Inuyasha flat on his backside. He pointed to the door. "Go."

     Inuyasha was gone before the elder demon could even drop his hand back down to his side.

     "Well, you certainly know how to apologize to a woman."

     Sesshoumaru looked up to see Kirara slowly making her way toward him, a knowing smile on her own face. 

     "What did you do to merit giving such an apology?" She place her hands on her hips, those bright, pink eyes of hers demanding an answer.

     Her answer was a calm passive face that shone with veiled innocence. "I do not know what you are talking about."

     Kirara rolled her eyes and slapped the dishtowel she had previously been using against her thigh. "Spill."

     Sesshoumaru smirked. "I learned the hard way, Kirara, that you never comment on a woman's weight. Even in a joking manner."

     A chuckle erupted from the fire-cat. "Oh, Sesshoumaru." 

A/N: Well, looks like Inuyasha has quite a task ahead of him. Please review; I love hearing your comments. God Bless! ~_Of Memories Past_


	8. Part VIII

DISCLAIMER: Nope, I don't own Inuyasha or anything to do with it.

You're not Alone

By: _Of Memories Past_

_Part VIII_

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

     "She's being impossible."

    Mrs. Higurashi nodded thoughtfully, placing a steaming cup down in front of the annoyed man. "She's very good at that sometimes."

     "Thank you," Inuyasha murmured. He lifted the cup to his lips and took a sip of the hot tea before speaking again. "She won't even let me explain!"

     "About Kikyo?" Mrs. Higurashi smiled.

     Inuyasha paled and looked worriedly at Kagome's mother. "She told you?"

     Musical laughter floated through the air, calming the nerves of the young man sitting across from her. Mrs. Higurashi reached across the table and grasped his hand, forcing his gaze up to her own. She smiled inwardly when she felt his grip tighten around her hand. Underneath the tough exterior was a man who needed as much reassurance as anyone else.

     "I know everything, Inuyasha. I couldn't rightfully be called a mother if I didn't." She grinned at the smiled that appeared on his face. "But that doesn't change my own opinion on things." She stood up and took their empty cups to the sink to wash them. "I know what happened in the past, but I also had the opportunity of watching you with my daughter for a few years. That in itself is more than enough to let me know you tell the truth," she referred to the story he had just told her. "And, Kagome should not have overreacted like that, no matter the circumstances. She's just a bit sensitive to everything since she just got you back. Anything can feel like a threat to her right now because she doesn't want to lose you again."

     Inuyasha sighed and drummed his claws on the kitchen table. "I'm a jerk, aren't I?"

     Mrs. Higurashi grinned. "Yes, but you're a very loveable jerk." She smiled at the grin on his face. Walking over to him, she lightly rubbed his ears, glad that he felt comfortable enough to take off that concealing chain, before taking his face in her hands and giving him a very motherly kiss on the cheek. "Now go and talk some sense into that stubborn daughter of mine."

     Inuyasha stood up and hugged the woman he had come to look at as a mother. Smiling, he looked down at her. "Thank you."

     "Get," Mrs. Higurashi ordered, grinning. 

     Inuyasha was gone the next second, his footsteps heard running up the stairs.

     "Oh, goodness." Mrs. Higurashi leaned against the counter and put a hand to her heart. She found that she loved him as much as she did her own children. It was hard not to. "Marry my daughter."

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

     "Kagome, let me in," he growled. This had been going on for over ten minutes now.

     "Go away, Inuyasha," an angry voice called from the inside. "I do not want to talk to you right now."

     He looked helplessly at the woman who had just come up the stairs.

    Mrs. Higurashi crossed her arms over her chest. She had listened to the shouting coming from her daughter's room for long enough. After the sound of a vase crashing and shattering against the wall and Inuyasha's patient coaxing turning to growling reached her ears, she decided that some motherly intervention might be necessary. And, now she saw, or rather heard, for herself that it was indeed her daughter that was being unreasonable.

     She walked up to the door next to Inuyasha. "Kagome," she called, "let him in."

     "NO!"

     Well, then. Mrs. Higurashi stood back, fixing Inuyasha with an expectant look.

     "What?" he asked clearly confused.

     Mrs. Higurashi nodded to the door. "Rip it off."

    Inuyasha grinned and pushed his sleeves up before grasping the door. He knew he liked her. "Kagome, I'm coming in!"

     The angry girl in her room gasped and watched with wide eyes as her heavy door suddenly came off its hinges and was casually set aside in the hallway. Left in its place was one ticked off hanyou.

     "Kagome," he growled dangerously, "you're coming with me."

     Kagome screamed when he crossed the room and effortlessly threw her over his shoulder. She pounded his back furiously, shouting angrily the entire way out the door.

     "Give it up, Kagome," he warned.

     "Mama!" she yelled, sighting her mother. "Help!"

     Mrs. Higurashi simply waved as Inuyasha deliberately started down the stairs with her daughter. "Have fun, honey!"

     Kagome continued shouting all the way out the door, not caring at the moment that her raucous could draw unwanted attention to the silver-haired demon carrying her. Her shouts turned to a shriek as Inuyasha entered the well house and promptly dropped into the ancient well. But unlike the many times before, they hit the bottom of the well.

     Inuyasha sat down on the soft earth and pulled the angry female into his lap, positioning her so that she was facing him. He showed no surprise when Kagome lifted her hand and slapped him hard across the face. He simply kept his amber eyes focused on her while she ranted and beat on his chest.

     Soon, tears began flowing down her cheeks, and her shouts and beatings became less violent until they had virtually disappeared. However, her tears kept coming. She turned a tearful gaze to Inuyasha, more filling her eyes at the understanding look in his own, before collapsing against him and hugging him tightly.

     He wrapped his arms around her and held her close as she cried, gently rocking her back and forth. While he still believed that she had overreacted, Inuyasha understood where the stress and anger came from. He placed a clawed hand against the back of her head, lightly stroking her hair in a soothing manner as he continued rocking her.

     "I'm sorry," she finally whispered. "But I don't want to lose you again. I don't think I could stand it."

     Inuyasha pushed her back a bit so he could look at her. "You're not going to."

     "But Kikyo…"

     "I don't want Kikyo!" he growled, wishing the girl would get it through her thick head how he felt about her. "You never let me explain."

     "You never tried!" she cried. She sat back against his arms

     "You can be angry at me there," he answered. "I should have told you sooner, but that doesn't meant that I wasn't going to at all!"

     Kagome crossed her arms. "Than start talking now."

     So he did. He explained everything that had happened with Kikyo over the past five hundred years. He admitted to being drawn to her a few times the first two hundred that they had lived without her, but nothing had ever happened. But then things had stopped. It became evident to him that Kikyo was not the one who he wanted.

     "I wanted you, Kagome," he whispered. "I missed _you_."

     "I'm sorry," she whispered in return.

     "Yeah, me too." Inuyasha looked down. "She is still around, Kagome."

     The young miko nodded. "You said that. But where? What is she up to now?"

     Inuyasha smirked. "You thought a miko with purifying arrows was scary, try one with purifying bullets."

     Kagome's eyes grew wide. "What?"

     He shrugged and reached up to play with her hair. "We've had a few close encounters. But Sesshoumaru says she's here now. Things are going to be kind of hard now trying to keep her at bay."

     Kagome nodded. "That and we have to purify the jewel."

    He bit his lower lip and nodded his own head before letting it fall back against the well wall. Arguing with her had been quite an exhausting experience.

     "We'll be ok," Kagome murmured. She reached forward and began to lightly scratch his ears, smiling when Inuyasha pulled her forward to rest on his chest. 

     She continued scratching. "You know, I read another letter from each of them."

     Inuyasha looked down at her and grinned. "What did they say?"

     Kagome held back tears. "Miroku says hi and that if you haven't kissed me yet he's coming back to haunt you." She smiled as she listened to the chuckling that came from deep within his chest.

     "And Sango?"

     "Sango says hi also and that Kirara loves having her belly scratched. So, we're not supposed to forget that." She laughed. "Says that an angry fire-cat will go from being angry to docile if you scratch their belly, especially Kirara."

     Inuyasha smirked. "I'll remember that. Kaede?"

     Kagome smiled warmly, remembering the old woman. "Kaede, like the others, says hi. But she also says that she'll be watching out for us always. And, she tells you to be nice to Shippo."

     He grunted. "I'm nice to the brat."

     "He's _my_ baby. You had better be nice," Kagome warned, pushing a finger into his chest.

     Suddenly, Inuyasha grabbed her hand and smiled at her roguishly before bringing it up to his lips. Then, the same smile still on his face, he used his knees to lift her up to his face. The look on his face softened as he looked at her dark eyes.

     "He's your pup?"

     Kagome licked her lips, a bit nervous as the closeness. But she smiled and fixed him with a lighthearted glare. "He's _my pup_."

     Inuyasha brushed his lips across hers lightly and then leaned back again.

     Kagome's own look softened as she brushed his bangs back from his face. "What's wrong?"

     "How would you feel about more pups?" He tightened his hold on her

     Her eyes widened. "More? Inuyasha…"

     "Be mine, Kagome," he whispered. "Be my mate, marry me, or whatever you want to call it. Just be mine."

     "I'm so young," she said more to herself, dumbfounded. He had just proposed to her. Not what she had been expecting… "How would…"

     "We will work it out," he answered quietly. "But it's up to you. I can wait another five hundred years if I have to."

     "That's just it, Inuyasha," Kagome said sadly. "I won't be here in another five hundred years. You'd be alone."

     "Not if you're mine."

     Kagome's eyes widened. "What?"

     "Once your blood is mine and mine is yours, you're life expectancy becomes that of a youkai. You'll still be human, but you'll live forever— unless you're killed."

     "But how do we do that?" she asked confused. But the smirk her gave her answered her question, and she blushed. "Oh."

     Inuyasha held her closer and rested his chin atop her head. "Be mine, Kagome? I'll get down on one knee if I have to."

     "You don't have to," she whispered, "because I'm saying yes." She wrapped her arms around him as tightly as she could. "I…"

     All speech was cut off as he silenced her with that kiss that Sesshoumaru had said he had better give her.

A/N: *Singing*    _Going to the chapel and their gonna get married…  _Lol. Sorry, couldn't help myself. Hope that you all enjoyed. Review please, and God Bless! ~_Of Memories Past_


	9. Part IX

DISCLAIMER: Nope, I don't own Inuyasha or anything to do with it.

You're not Alone

By: _Of Memories Past_

_Part IX_

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

     Kagome used her key for the second time, only now she had no hesitations about opening the door. Inuyasha had made it clear again that she was to go ahead and walk right in anytime she wanted to. So, Kagome opened the door and walked in. Only this time when she did, she found the small apartment in utter chaos. Her eyes widened at the seen before her.

     Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha, both in their human forms, ran around the apartment like madmen, desperately trying to capture five screaming children. Shippo, along with two male teenagers she did not recognize joined them. The children ran wild, jumping on and over the furniture, pulling Shippo's tail, turning the sink on and off, and anything else that could possibly be imaginable. One, a little girl, even streaked across the living room soaking wet.

     Kagome took one look at the drenched, shirtless Inuyasha and knew that he had been trying to give that one a bath. And that he was hot on her heels helped with that discernment also. The little dark-haired girl laughed hysterically as she outsmarted the hanyou, and dove under the couch only to pop out the other side. 

     "Kagome!"

     The bewildered girl looked to the source that called her name, amazed that she had heard it over all the noise. A full-grown Kirara stood motioning for her to join her, another woman, and a couple teenage girls on the couch. She furrowed her brows in confusion but walked over and joined them.

     "What's going on?" she shouted over the clamor.

     "Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha are trying to calm Sesshoumaru and Rin's pups down! Shippo let them have some chocolate, and it went straight to hell from there!" Kirara shouted back.

     "Oh." Kagome watched as the youkai brothers collided in midair after their pursuit of one pup failed miserably. Realization suddenly dawned on her, and she turned to face the dark-haired woman sitting with her on the couch. "Rin?"

     Rin smiled. "Hello, Kagome. It's been a while."

     Kagome laughed and threw her arms around the woman who she had last seen as a little girl. "Who would have thought?! Are all of these yours?" She motioned to the kids.

     Nodding, Rin motioned to the two girls. "This is Hana," she pointed to a girl who looked to be about Kagome's own age with short silver hair, "and this is Sakura." Sakura looked just like her mother and appeared to be around thirteen.

     "Hello."

     "Hello."

     Kagome smiled at the girls. "Hi, do you all go to school here?"

     The girls were just about to answer when their father's voice boomed out loudly.

     "I've gotcha, brats!"

     Rin laughed as Sesshoumaru held two of their sons up by their heels and grinned at them. 

     "Now you two go and sit with your mama," he ordered, snatching another running little boy by the back of his shirt as he ran from his older brother.

     The two older boys, who appeared to be twins, heaved a sigh of relief and promptly collapsed into an armchair together, not caring at the moment that they were sprawled all over each other. Peace at last.

     Rin laughed again. "Now if only Uncle Inuyasha could finish Katsue's bath.

     The spoken of bundle of energy chose that moment to run her naked, little body back across the living room. She laughed the entire way, bursting into another fit of giggles every time she slipped out of her uncle's grasp.

     "Inuyasha, get her!" Sesshoumaru cried. "You've only had to chase one of them!"

     Inuyasha snarled as the pup once again dodged him. "It's not my fault, Sesshoumaru!" 

     Kagome smiled behind her hand at the seen. It made her start to wonder what her own children would be like. The realization that Inuyasha would be the father caused a blush to rise in her cheeks.

     "You're mine!" 

     With that battle cry and one final leap, Katsue's freedom abruptly disappeared.

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

     "Oooh, you're all wet." Kagome eyed Inuyasha warily and stepped aside as he emerged from his bathroom with a freshly cleaned Katsue wrapped up in a fluffy towel. The pup looked spotless and was all smiled, happy to be in the warmth of the towel. Inuyasha on the other hand…

     Kagome could not help but let her laughter loose. Inuyasha was obviously not pleased with his current condition. Though shirtless, it was clear that he was drenched. Soap bubbles stuck to the end of his nose and in the black hair that was plastered to his body, and water slicked off of his arms. Not to mention, his look was clearly annoyed. He lightly set the little girl down and told her to go and find her mother before fixing Kagome with a glare.

     Kagome simply laughed harder.

     "Oh, you think it's funny?" he asked, slowly moving forward. 

     "Very," she answered, inching back as he came closer. She had seen the mischievous glint in his eyes and knew all too well not to get too close. Unfortunately, her backward movement sent the back of her knees crashing into the bed, and her legs buckled. 

     But Kagome found herself falling for only a moment before a very wet Inuyasha caught her. She grimaced. Yes, it was nice that he caught her, but now she was soaked. 

     Inuyasha laughed and dabbed some soap bubbles on her nose. "Not so funny anymore is it?"

     "Inuyasha…" she growled. She screamed when he threw his arms completely around her, laughing and crushing her to him. She felt the water clinging to his body seeping through her clothing as she ground her teeth and thought of numerous ways to murder him. He was so dead.

     But even more dead now than before. Her eyes suddenly widened when she felt him kissing her neck. She was soaked, stuck in his arms (usually no complaint), could not move, and had no clothes to change into. Kagome's fists clenched, and her eyes followed suit as she did the one thing that always proved to make her feel a bit better.

     "SIT!"

     Nothing.

     "What?" she asked, bewildered. "Why didn't that work?"

     "Necklace broke after the well sealed you from us," he said between the kisses he pressed against her flesh. He stopped for a moment to kiss her lips before continuing. "I really don't miss it." Inuyasha winked and let her go. "Not one sit in five hundred years." "My back feels great."

     Kagome was blistering as she sat on the floor with Inuyasha smirking smugly in front of her. Not able to say sit anymore? She was fuming. Not to mention his smirk. Some things just did not change. And of course, Inuyasha still did not know when to stop.

     "My back feels great."

     That was the last straw. "Not after I get done with you it won't!"

      Sit wasn't going to work? Well then, Kagome would just have to take matters (or him) into her own hands.

     Inuyasha did not expect for Kagome to pounce forward onto him, and he promptly fell flat on his back while she pinned his arms to the ground.

     "Do you think you can get away with that," she ground out. But suppressed mischief peeked out from behind her dark eyes.

     Inuyasha chuckled. "Yes." He simply lifted her up with his legs airplane style.

     Her anger dissipated immediately as she was thrust into the childhood game that she and her mother would play. She reached forward to grab his hands, laughing joyously the entire time as he kept her balanced. 

     "Inuyasha, put me down before someone comes in and sees us!" she cried. Mirthful tears poured out of her eyes as she laughed.

     "Too late for that."

     Kagome looked up and Inuyasha turned his head to find Sesshoumaru and Rin standing in the bedroom doorway, amused looks on their faces. Rin brought her hand up to her mouth to hide a smiled while Sesshoumaru simply raised an eyebrow. But evidence of a tiny grin quirked at the corner of his lips.

     Kagome tried to get off at that point, but failed. "Inuyasha, let me off!"

     But Inuyasha had other ideas. He merely gave a little push with his legs and sent her flying in his brother's direction. 

     Sesshoumaru effortlessly caught her bridal style and set her on the ground before fixing the couple with a look. "Time to stop messing around. We do have some work to do."

     Rin nodded. "We managed to pinpoint Kikyo's location."

     Both Inuyasha and Kagome sobered up and went to leave the room. Kagome exited ahead with Rin, Inuyasha following behind them.

     "I bet you can't go two minutes without messing around," Sesshoumaru whispered in his brother's ear as he passed by.

     Inuyasha whirled around to face the older demon. "I bet you that I can."

     "Oh!"

     The two brothers turned to see Rin with her hands clapped together joyously in front of her. 

     "Speaking of bets, Kagome, I have to show you something! We'll start on this Kikyo business right after." She made her way to the video cabinet and pulled out a video. "This is it!"

     "NO!" the demons shouted together.

     Kagome blinked both out of curiosity and the surprise of seeing Sesshoumaru's normally calm face become somewhat frantic as he caught sight of the tape in his mate's hands.

     Inuyasha simply looked mortified.

     "Oh, stop it you two. You lost the bet anyway, so I get to have fun with it." She knelt down and popped the tape into the VCR.

     "What's going on?" Shippo asked, walking into the living room and flopping onto the couch with a bag of chips.

     "Remember when I won that bet a few years ago?" Rin asked, sitting with him and reaching for some chips. She began munching happily as her children and the woman-like Kirara all began congregating around to see what was going on.

     Shippo simply burst out laughing as he remembered the bet. "Sit down Kagome," he motioned to his surrogate mother. "You're going to love this."

     Kagome sat as she was told and fixed her eyes on the television in front of her.  She gasped when the tape began to play.

     Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha glowered in the corner.

A/N: I wonder what they're watching on the television? You'll find out in the next chapter, and they'll also start running into Kikyo! Sorry it took so long to update. I've been doing nothing but running back and forth since I've been home. Happy Holidays and God Bless! ~_Of Memories Past._


	10. Part X

DISCLAIMER: Nope, I don't own Inuyasha or anything to do with it.

**A/N: **Not a chapter for Britney Spears fans. I apologize if you like her, but this idea hit me and I couldn't let it pass. I will say though that she does have her strong points, even if I don't care for her, but with stuff lately, this just would not leave me. Even if I don't care for the person, I do enjoy a few of her songs. Old ones. Oh well, enough of that. Enjoy!

You're not Alone

By: _Of Memories Past_

_Part X_

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

     _"Crazy!"_

     The deep feeling of dread pitted itself in the bottom of Inuyasha's stomach as the saucy, sickening sound of pop music reached his delicate ears. He watched with horror as his fiancé and friends watched the old music video that had proven to be such humiliation for him and his brother and such great fun for his sister-in-law. Rin smiled widely on the couch between Kagome and Kirara, the grin on her face almost splitting her head as her body swayed slightly to the old dance moves, and Inuyasha noticed with chagrin that Sesshoumaru's own body was starting to unconsciously move to the music. He grabbed his leg, eyes wide with surprise, when his own body started to take on a mind of its own. No, this was not happening to him.

     Kagome, on the other hand, could not believe what she was seeing. A music video that she had seen thousands of times before, she would have never noticed what she did now if Rin did not point it out for her. And now Kagome could not believe that she had not noticed it before. There, swinging their bodies with the music to Britney Spears' video _You Drive Me Crazy_ were Sesshoumaru, Rin, and Inuyasha as backup dancers. 

     "Inuyasha, that's Britney Spears," Kagome said, dumbfounded.

     "Yeah," Inuyasha groaned pitifully.

     "And that's you." She pointed at the screen.

     Inuyasha hid his eyes with his hand and nodded.

     Rin, on the other hand, obviously had had a wonderful time doing it as she told Kagome that she loved to dance, but Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru had been conned into it after losing a bet. A bet that had cost them their dignity. 

     Kirara laughed and cheered wildly from the couch, this little adventure being on of her favorites. "Go, Rin!" 

     Rin stood up on the couch and began to repeat the old moves, growing bolder as her friends and children cheered louder. Sesshoumaru growled when Sakura and Hana joined their mother in the provocative dance moves but allowed the women to have a good time goofing off with each other. 

     Laughing, Kagome and Kirara took one look at each other before jumping up on the couch with the other three females and joining in, Kirara pulling Shippo up with them. The kit had as good a time as any of them.

     Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru scowled the entire time.

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

     "I never knew that you could dance like that, Inuyasha."

     "Keh." 

     Kagome merely smiled and kneaded his shoulders from behind, knowing that he was embarrassed enough. But indeed, he really could move. She made a mental note to get him to take her clubbing one night.

     "Now how did you two get yourself into that?" she asked, taking off his concealing necklace so that she could rub his ears. The action proved to calm and relax him like she thought it would.

     "Lost a bet over Jeopardy," Sesshoumaru said quietly. "Inuyasha and I thought the answer was one thing while Rin thought it was another. She bet us that she was right, and we agreed saying we'd do whatever she wanted if she won." Sesshoumaru pinched the bridge of his nose. "Well, she was right, and she picked that."

     "We're never betting her again," Inuyasha added.

     "Oh, it was fun, you two," Rin insisted, grabbing Katsue as she reached for her uncle's ears. The little pup was more trouble than she could handle sometimes. 

     Sesshoumaru sighed and handed his daughter a cookie to keep her quiet and watched as the little girl happily munched in her mother's lap. That should keep her out of trouble for a while. 

     "I don't ever want to see that demon again," Inuyasha shuddered.

     Kagome's ears perked at the mentioning of the word demon. "Demon? Britney Spears?"

     It was Sesshoumaru's turn to shudder as he sat down at the dining room table only to have his two oldest daughters sit themselves on his knees. He wrapped his arms around them protectively. Hana took his concealing necklace and giggled when Sesshoumaru playfully swatted her in the face with his tail.

     A smile touched Kagome's lips as she watched the previously malice and vicious demon lord hug on his daughters. He really had changed.

     "Britney Spears is a slug youkai," Sesshoumaru conceded. "That necklace that she wears is quite a concealing spell. A rather disgusting creature if I do say so myself."

     "That's because she had her slimy body all over you," Inuyasha smirked. He laughed out loud. "Sesshoumaru went to get her from her dressing room because she was late for a practice run and found her oozing and dripping in her room. She had lost the necklace and latched onto him immediately when he walked in."

     It was Rin's turn to laugh as she looked at the wry look on her mate's face. "He was immediately sent back to makeup. Looked like he had swum through a garbage heap." She burst out laughing, and Katsue followed her mother's suit, although completely oblivious to what was going on.

     Trying to hide her own smile, Kagome grinned behind her hand. It was hard picturing the normally calm and collective Sesshoumaru covered in slime from head to toe. 

     Inuyasha did not have any trouble remembering as he laughed out loud and received warning glares from his brother.

     "Okay, time to stop," Rin laughed, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes. She handed Katsue over to Sakura and told the two teenage girls to get off of their father. "We have some important business to discuss." 

     Hana jumped off her father's lap and tweaked her uncle's ears before wandering into the living room to watch some television with her brothers. The twins were still exhausted from chasing around the two younger boys. Sakura propped her baby sister on her hip and leaned over to kiss her uncle's cheek as she left the room.

     Family or not, Inuyasha still blushed.

     "Okay," Rin began, immediately settling down to business. She folded her hands and set them on the table. "Kikyo."

      Kagome tensed at the sound of her name but relaxed when she felt Inuyasha grip her hand underneath the table.

     Sesshoumaru drummed his long nails on the table, seeming to be bored with the matter.

     "A friend of ours, another youkai, working for the police department here in Tokyo has informed us that Kikyo has recently joined the department," Rin informed. "To make a very long story short, she hasn't given up and getting you yet, Inuyasha, and is digging through anything and everything to try and find some way to get you into trouble with the law so that she can legally get her hands on you and do something without drawing too much attention to herself."

     Inuyasha smirked. "My record's clean. Let's see her try to find anything."

     "That's just the problem, Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru spoke up. "You record is clean, so now she is trying to find something on Kagome." His eyes darkened as Kagome's surprise showed. "Kikyo's a smart person. It won't be hard for to her plant some false information if drastic measures are called." Sesshoumaru sent a warning glance to his brother. "And, she legally carries a gun."

     Kagome could both hear and feel the growling coming from within Inuyasha's body at the mentioning of that matter. She reached up to stroke his ears in attempt to calm him. It only worked a little

     "See the problem?" Rin leaned forward and looked Inuyasha straight in the eye. "She knows where you are now, and she has always known where Kagome was."

     Inuyasha sat back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. Life had just started to look great, and now this pushed its ugly self into it. "What about the soul catchers? Where are they?"

     "Concealed by spells such as ours," Sesshoumaru answered grimly. "A nasty bunch of men. Hard not to notice them though. They still surround the priestess."

     Inuyasha cursed and then grabbed Kagome by the hand as he stood up. Snatching his keys off the counter, he began dragging Kagome over to the door.

     "Inuyasha," Kagome started. She tried to pry her hand out of his until she had some answers. "What are you…?"

     "Taking you home to pack. You're moving in until this is dealt with." He opened the door and lightly pushed Kagome out. "Don't even argue with me," he warned as she opened her mouth to say something."

     Kagome's mouth snapped shut, and she sullenly walked to his car. She'd deal with him on the way to her house.

     Throwing his concealing necklace around his neck, Inuyasha's features slowly changed from silver and gold to black and violet as he turned to Sesshoumaru and Rin.

     "We'll be back in a couple hours. Are you staying for dinner?"

     Sesshoumaru nodded. "Our friend is going to call with more info if he gets it."

     Kirara came out of her room and stepped forward, once more in her child form. "It will be done by the time you get back."

     Inuyasha nodded gratefully and turned to leave. He stopped suddenly and turned back to his brother and sister-in-law. "Who is your friend at the department anyway?"

     Sesshoumaru's smirk could not be missed as he looked at his younger brother's face and anticipated a reaction. "Kouga." 

     "WHAT?!"

A/N: Lol…sorry about that ending. But yes, the wolf will be a part of this. I love him too much not to include him. Sorry it's taken so long to update, but I've been very, very busy. And, with several stories out to be completed, things do get difficult. Hope you all had a great holiday and good new year! God Bless! ~_Of Memories Past_


	11. Part XI

DISCLAIMER: Nope, I don't own Inuyasha or anything to do with it.

**A/N: **Dedicated to Trevor. Thank you very much! J

You're not Alone

By: _Of Memories Past_

_Part XI_

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

     The clock on the classroom wall made an annoying clicking sound as the seconds passed by. Students stared uninterestedly into space, drumming their fingers on their desk or balancing pencils on their upper lip—like Shippo. So far he had succeeded in balancing two pencils, a pen, and a magic marker on his lip. Girls sitting near him giggled at the handsome young man with his mouth pursed as he tried to keep the objects from falling. 

     Shippo merely flashed them a flirtatious grin, but unfortunately the action caused the utensils to fall clattering to his desk. A high-pitched chorus of _aw_ followed, and the kitsune had to refrain from sticking his fingers in his ears. Didn't they realize how loud they were and how shrill that pitch was?

     Luckily for him, the bored bunch of females returned to their absent minded staring a few moments later, some gawking rather obviously at him, and Shippo was left to glare at the clock on the wall as it noisily ticked away. His fingers joined in with the drumming beat caused by many other boys in his class as he secretly wondered along with them where the teacher was.

     Not to mention that he had no idea where the one person was that he was stuck in school for again.

     Shippo grimaced. It just had to be Health 101 too.

     He had not seen Kagome since the day before when Inuyasha had drug her out of the apartment in an overprotective huff, declaring the entire way that she would be staying with them until the situation with Kikyo was taken care of—no questions asked. Assuming that her mother would not be too thrilled with the idea, Shippo had assumed that the two had stayed the night at Kagome's in order to try and convince her mother that it was the safest bet. Oh, he totally agreed that Kagome would be safer with them, but on the other hand he could also sympathize with Mrs. Higurashi's point of view. After all, Inuyasha and Kagome were getting quite a bit more affectionate as each day passed. He could both see and smell the evidence. 

     Shippo snickered.

     Unfortunately, the teacher coming into the room interrupted his mischievous thoughts. Students began straightening their backs and sitting as upright as possible with their hands folded in their laps, but Shippo frowned and remained slouching over his desk, not even bothering to look up. He didn't want to be there anyway.

     "Good morning, class."

     Shippo froze as the class responded with their own chorus of good mornings. The teacher's voice was distant and yet very familiar. The calm, and cool monotone held no emotion or warmth, and he could almost feel a cold stare trying to penetrate him. He silently cursed himself for not recognizing the scent that now threatened to overwhelm his keen sense of smell.

     He slowly lifted his emerald eyes and registered his gaze with that of a walking grave.

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

     "Sorry, Kagome, but this is the way it's going to be. Like it or not." Inuyasha hefted her heavy suitcase over his shoulder and onto he bed in Kirara's room "Whether or not you want to believe it, you're safer with us."

     "Keep telling yourself that, Inuyasha." Kagome scowled and slumped down onto the bed. It was just her luck that her mother would freak out about the whole situation and practically fling her daughter at her future son-in-law. She glared at the memory, silently trying to burn right through her fiancé. After all, no mother was supposed to allow their daughter to stay in the house of the man that they loved and were extremely attracted to. It just was not decent. Kagome had even been ready to try the whole '_you don't want me to give into temptation, do you?' _bit. Her mom was then supposed to gasp at the sudden realization and tell Inuyasha that Kagome would just have to stay home and have her family protect her. She had been relying on that factor to keep her in her own house and in her own bed. 

     Kagome narrowed her eyes agitatedly, beginning to wonder in the first place why she expected her mother to try and protect her virginity. The woman had made it clear that she trusted Inuyasha with her and her daughter's life.

     "You being cute was suppose to make my mother worry," she mumbled.

     Inuyasha stopped and gave her a smirk before sitting down next to her. "You think I'm cute?"

     Kagome glared. "I'll say you're gorgeous if you'll let me go back home."

     "Not a chance." Inuyasha leaned forward for a short kiss before tweaking her nose and getting up. He whistled on his way over to the closet, happy with the fact that he had won the argument. Of course, she could still argue, but she would not get anywhere with it.

     "Here," he said, flinging open the closet door, "Kirara cleared half of this out, so you can fill it to your heart's content."

     "Inuyasha, I'm not staying here." Kagome lifted her eyes and locked them with his, her look stoically serious.

     Sighing, Inuyasha crossed the room once more and joined her. He smiled at her mischievously before taking her hands in his. "It's bunking with Kirara or bunking with me." 

     A deep shade of crimson stole into Kagome's cheeks at the proposition, and she half wanted to slap Inuyasha for mentioning such an intimate matter. Then again, the other half of her wanted to take the offer. 

     "We're not married, you dolt," she chided, looking up at him. "And I'm not even _sleeping_ in the same bed as you until we are."

     "Feh, you didn't object to sleeping in my lap all those times back in the past." 

     "But I didn't know how you felt then either," Kagome added. "Forget it, Inuyasha." Kagome swallowed and inched back a bit when a sly grin stole onto his face. 

     "I'll stop, but I won't forget it." He winked at her and then left the room.

     Kagome snatched a pillow and threw it at the door, growling the entire time.

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

     "Jerk."

     Inuyasha gaped at Kirara while in the process of taking a bit out of his sandwich. "What the hell did I do now, you dumb feline?"

     "You upset her again," Kirara replied shortly. She finished wiping down the kitchen counter and began pulling various items out to start dinner.

     Taking a bite of his sandwich, Inuyasha leaned against the counter and glared. "You know, you're attitude has gotten a hell of a lot worse since you've shown us this new form of yours." He snorted. "Does growing a few inches affect your hormones or something?"

     A loud snap reverberated through the tiny kitchen when Kirara slammed a pot down on the counter. She turned to Inuyasha with her pink eyes blazing. "What the hell is that suppose to mean!"

     "It means that you have an issue with your attitude!" he yelled back. "You know that Kagome being here is the best thing for her, so why are you giving me grief about it?" He brushed past the fire-cat and glared at her. "Get rid of the attitude, Kirara." He left for the living room and a little peace. Everyone was shouting in his ears today.

     "Oh, _I_ have an attitude?" Kirara snapped back, following him out. "Well, try this one on for size, jerk!" Kirara stood in front of him and fumed. It took all of her effort not to reach out and let him have it. "It starts with jewel shards. You want them. You treat everyone like crap because you can't come to terms with yourself. Naraku happens. You're moody. We defeat Naraku, and the well seals. You _sulk_ for one hundred years, but we stick by you. Then the woman you've been waiting for comes back into your life, and you still have an attitude!"

     Inuyasha stood, his own temper rising dangerously high as his eyes burned into hers, but Kirara raised her chin defiantly. "What happened to the cute, little fur ball that didn't ever speak?!" he shouted.

     "I'm still a cute, little fur ball!" she shrieked. Tears suddenly sprung into her eyes. "But I'm an alone cute, little fur ball!" Kirara gasped when she realized what she had just said, and her hand flew to her mouth. 

     "What?" Inuyasha's eyes widened as Kirara sank down to the couch in tears. He cringed. Kirara crying was as bad as Kagome crying. "Kirara, you're not alone." He sat down and sighed before wrapping his arms around her. Even though they argued heatedly constantly, he loved the fire-cat as much as he did Shippo. He growled softly. "You guys make me soft." He grinned at her shaky laughter. 

     "It fits you. You suck when you're moody," she said, and Inuyasha chuckled. 

     "Do you feel better now that you've insulted me?" he asked dryly. 

     Kirara nodded and wiped at her eyes. "Just don't make her resent being with us. I don't want her to leave."

     "She won't."

     Kirara smiled up at the hanyou. "I'm taking a nap." Two seconds later, a tiny fur ball curled up between the couch and the back of Inuyasha's neck, falling to sleep peacefully underneath a thick curtain of silver hair.

     "That was quite an argument."

     Inuyasha looked up at Kagome before straining his neck to get a look at Kirara. She was already deep in slumber, small chirps coming from her occasionally. "Things are cooled."

     Kagome nodded and joined him on the couch. She lightly scratched Kirara's back before idly lacing her hand with his. "That was quite and argument." 

     "It's over now. She just needs some sleep."

     A smile touched Kagome's lips when the soft sound of content purrs reached her ears. "I'm not going anywhere," she whispered, scratching the small fire-cat once more. She smiled at Inuyasha. "Guess I'm going to be here for a while, huh?"

     "Yeah," he grinned, leaning closer to her, "so get use to it." He leaned down and closed his eyes, tilting her chin up to meet him.

     "NO!"

     The front door slammed and Inuyasha and Kagome flew apart, Inuyasha fixing the intruder with a heated glare. 

     "Don't look at me like that, Inuyasha," Shippo growled. "I just got out after hearing about the _lovey dovies_ for the past hour. Spare me." 

     Shippo marched straight in and dropped his backpack onto the floor with a thud so loud that Kirara was awoken from her sleep. She growled dangerously and fixed her own pink glare on the kit.

     "Oh, stuff it, Kirara," he spat. "It won't kill you to miss your catnap."

     Kirara was glowering.

     "What's wrong, Shippo?" Kagome asked, worry etched in her voice. The fiery gleam in his emerald eyes screamed out how angry he was.

     "What's wrong?" he laughed cynically. "_He_ made me go to school to watch after you."

     Kagome turned to Inuyasha and scowled. "Inuyasha…"

     Inuyasha clamped his hand over her mouth. "Not right now."

     "Oh yes, right now!" Shippo shouted, stamping his foot. "We've got HUGE problems on our hands."

     Inuyasha stared. Shippo had not done that for centuries.

     Kagome brought her fingers up to massage her temples. "What happened?" She tried to ignore the oncoming headache.

     "One," Shippo said, dropping onto the couch next to his surrogate mother, "I was stuck in health this morning. Of course, you weren't there like you were supposed to be, so I had to amuse myself. He even glared at Kagome for a moment. "Two, I'm hearing more about sex than I ever wanted to know, and three, I'm hearing it from _Kikyo_!"

     "Kikyo?!" Inuyasha and Kagome exclaimed at the same time. 

     Hearing the priestess' name, Kirara grabbed her concealing necklace in her teeth and nudged Inuyasha until he slipped it over her neck.

     "Kikyo?" Kirara asked, once she could talk. "I thought she was working with the authorities?"

     "Well, not anymore," Shippo sang lightly. "See the problem?"

     Kagome groaned. "Now I'll never get back into school."

     Shippo smirked as she lamented. If she wasn't going, then neither was he. 

     Inuyasha clenched his teeth and pinched the bridge of his nose. Could life be easy for them just once? "Shippo," he said, standing, "go and call Sesshoumaru. Tell him and Rin to get over here as soon as they can." He paused for a moment, hating the next words that would come from his mouth. "And tell them to bring the mangy wolf with them."

     Kagome's head snapped up. "Kouga?"

     "Kouga!" Kirara cheered. She grasped her friend's hand. "Kagome you should see him now. He was cute when you knew him, but now…"

     "Kirara!"

     Kirara looked up and caught the glare Inuyasha directed her way. "What? I can't appreciate good looks?"

     Inuyasha walked away, mumbling something about his life having gone to hell.

A/N: Sorry about the long wait. But life is full of busy little surprises (and writer's block). My next goal is to add a new chapter to at least two or three of my other stories, and then I'll start the cycle again. Please have patience. I hope that you enjoyed this. Let me know what you liked or disliked, but please only constructive criticism. Thanks and God Bless! ~_Of Memories Past_


	12. Part XII

DISCLAIMER: Nope, I don't own Inuyasha or anything to do with it.

You're not Alone

By: _Of Memories Past_

_Part XII_

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

     "Well, hello there, Sexy."

     Kouga spun around and grinned at his old comrade before pulling her into a friendly embrace. "Changing our form again, are we Kirara?" His blue eyes sparkled as he noted on the form he had not before seen. "You look great."

     Kirara grinned and pulled on the long, black hair that hung loose from its usual ponytail. "Yeah, I do. How are Ayame and the pups?"

     "Good, they're all good," Kouga answered, looking around the apartment. "The pups have recently discovered matches, so Ayame is constantly on the lookout during the day."

     Kirara pretended to shudder. "God forbid they find out about fire."

     "Coming from a fire-cat," Kouga smirked.

     "Well, ya know…"

     Laughing, Kouga dropped his briefcase on the ground of his friend's apartment and stretched. "Where's Yashy?" The smirk couldn't be held back when Kirara rolled her eyes at him.

     "He's going to kill you if you keep calling him that."

     "Yeah," Kouga admitted, "but it's almost worth it. Where's the runt?"

     The sound of grumbling entered the room as Shippou sullenly marched in. His eyes met Kouga's, and he nodded to the older demon. "Kouga."

     The wolf demon's laughter filled the apartment once more. The kit stood all hunched over as he drug his feet and made his way into the living room. His normally vibrant, green eyes looked clouded over with irritation and frustration. As a matter of fact, his entire demeanor shouted out how he felt. "Having a bad day, Shippou?"

     "It's sucked," Shippou answered, sulking on the couch. He absently began flicking stations on the television, blowing his bangs out of his eyes when they fell in his face. "Know anything about sex, Kouga?"

     To say that Kouga's eyes went wide would be an understatement. He didn't know if he should take that last comment as an insult or as just some of Shippou's moody rambling. He opted for the latter. "What does that have to do with anything?" the wolf asked, moving to sit beside the kit.

     "Everything," Shippou mumbled. "If I see people kiss or touch each other one more time, I'm going to vomit."

     "Kouga!"

     "Wench…"

     Shippou cringed at the sound of Inuyasha and Kagome's voices. "Especially those two."

     "Oh, you'll live," Kirara scolded lightly, joining him on the couch to watch the reunion. She was secretly laughing on the inside at the annoyed look she knew would be on Inuyasha's face when he saw the other demon. 

     But Kagome was going to beat him to the door.

     Kouga froze when he saw Kagome. She was just as he had remembered her, and he smiled gently as he opened his arms to the girl he had once made unabashed declarations of love to.

     "Kouga!" she exclaimed again, rushing forward and jumping into her old friend's embrace. Kagome laughed happily along with Kouga as he spun her around before setting her back on the ground. Kirara was right. Kouga had grown to be quite handsome. His long, black hair hung freely, showing a striking contrast between it and his clear, blue eyes. He wore the same charming smile that he always had

     "Damn wolf."

     Kirara elbowed Inuyasha in the ribs and smirked when she heard him grunt. "Keep quiet. You know that Kagome has missed him too. Besides, he and Ayame are happily married."

     "Keh." Inuyasha scowled at Kagome's smiling face before turning his face away. Unfortunately, his eyes found a sulking Shippou, out glaring at the world once again. Empathizing at the moment, Inuyasha decided to join the kit in being morose. He wandered over to the couch and dropped down next to the kitsune. 

     Shippou glared Inuyasha, giving him a look that clearly said 'how dare you come into my personal space' and edged as far away as possible. 

     "How was school?" Inuyasha asked, knowing the type of response that the question would evoke. He tried not to smirk when Shippou when for his throat.

     "It's all your fault!" Shippou gripped his throat tightly as Inuyasha stifled laughter. His green eyes gleamed dangerously. "I wouldn't be in this position if it weren't for you and your damn hormones!" Rage the only thing on his mind, Shippou resorted to cheap tactics and pulled harshly on one of Inuyasha's ears.

     "OW!" Inuyasha shouted, reaching around for the kit's tail. 

     "Stop it!" Kirara wasted no more time jumping into the middle of the fray, and in record time she had Shippou subdued with his neck pinned between her calves and Inuyasha in a headlock. "Alright, children…"

     "What's up, muttface?" 

     The last being Inuyasha wanted to see was Kouga, so of course it would be his face leaning over his that was right in his direct line of vision. He scowled. "Not much, fleabag." Inuyasha struggled a bit until Kirara let him go. The fire-cat had more than a good grip. He rolled his neck a couple of times to work out the kinks that Kirara had graciously given him before facing the wolf. A lethal glint leaped into his eyes when he saw Kouga's arm draped loosely over Kagome's shoulders. "Let her go."

     Kouga frowned at Inuyasha's growl and clenched teeth, seeing once more the more violent (although suppressed) side of the hanyou. He turned to face Kagome with a serious look in his eyes as he placed his hands on her shoulders and leaned down so that he was eye level with her. 

     "Is he treating you right?" he asked, concern etched in his voice.

     Kagome smiled and nodded. "He is."

     The wolf took one more look at Inuyasha and sighed before pulling Kagome into his arms. "Alright, I'll believe you. But if things start to get out of hand, Ayame and I have a spare bedroom, and you are more than welcome to it."

     "She isn't going to need it, you mangy wolf," Inuyasha growled. He didn't like the look on Kagome's face at the Kouga's offer.

     Kagome was smiling. Kouga hadn't changed one bit. He still was protective of her, even if she was not his own. "I won't need it, Kouga, but thanks for caring." She paused to smile at Inuyasha. "I'm happy here, even with him and his mood swings."

     Inuyasha opened his mouth to protest, an angry scowl on his face until he caught the wink she threw his way. He settled for grumbling under his breath, but it was difficult for him not to grin at the way she openly flirted with him—right in front of the mangy wolf. A grin did come to his lips at that thought. 

     "Oh, I'm going to go and vomit now," Shippou announced, standing up and leaving to do just that. "Come on Kirara, you can hold my hair back."

     "Yes, your Highness," Kirara muttered, giving his tail a good yank as she got up to follow him out of the room. She turned and grinned at Inuyasha. "Don't worry. I'll have him shaped up by the time we get back."

      The hanyou snorted. "Good, he still seems to be a bit ignorant of some _things_."

     "I'll take care of that." With a sly grin, Kirara left and followed the revolted kit to the bathroom.

     Inuyasha watched her saunter after the kit before turning his attention once more to his future mate and old rival. "What information do you have for us?" 

     Kouga sighed, turning his attention from Kagome for a moment to face _Yashy_, as he so fondly called the dog-demon. "I was asked not to relay any information until all were present," he rattled carelessly. But past experience let him know too well…

     "What?!"

     …that Inuyasha was not going to be too thrilled with that answer. The silver-haired hanyou never had much patience. As a matter of fact, sometimes Kouga wondered how he had been able to wait for Kagome all those years. The wolf decided to ignore the currently red-faced Inuyasha and turned back to Kagome.

     "Want to see my kids?" he grinned.

     Kagome squealed happily when Kouga brought out the family photos from his wallet, and Inuyasha rolled his eyes, tempted to go join Shippou with throwing up in the bathroom.

     Kagome, on the other hand, loved seeing the pictures of his family. She laughed at the pictures of Kouga toppled by a squirming bunch of rambunctious pups and cooed over the ones of the newest member of the family that had arrived only a month beforehand. It made her happy to know that he had found a life to settle down in and love. 

     A picture of Kouga and Ayame together without the concealing chains surrounded by four pups—one seeming to be in his teen years—with black and red streaked hair brought a wide smile to her face. Their blue-green eyes shone brightly. "They're adorable."

     "Until they're in trouble," Kouga smirked wryly. "Wolf demon pups aren't too cute covered in kerosene while one of them is reaching for matches." He laughed at the horrified look on her face. "Don't worry. They got punished."

     "Who got punished?" Kirara slunk back into the living room and dropped down onto the couch, crossing her long legs as she tried to peer over Kouga and Kagome's shoulders to see what they were looking at. 

     "His pups," Kagome said, still a bit dazed. "Matches."

     Kirara smirked and snapped her fingers together, creating a small amber flame. "Who needs matches?"

     "Oh, please do not show them that you can do that," Kouga groaned. He could just picture his pups swooning over the deadly fire-cat and her control over fire—especially his oldest, who found girls to be just the most interesting creatures.

     "Where's Shippou?" Kagome asked. She swept her hair back off her neck and tied into a ponytail to keep the dark strands from falling into her face. "He isn't really sick is he?"

     Inuyasha's chuckle brought looks of confusion to everyone's faces as they glanced up at him. 

     "He's not sick," Inuyasha said, pointing toward the kitchen. "Just a bit dazed."

     Dazed did not even begin to describe the astonished look on the kit's face as he stumbled into the living room. He did not seem to notice as he banged sharply into the corner of the coffee table and stepped on the television remote. The cracked remote remained completely ignored as he dropped onto the couch, though he tried to stay as far away from Kirara as he could. 

     "What the hell happened to you?" Inuyasha moved in front of Shippou and waved his hand in front of the kitsune's face. But Shippou stared blankly. "What did you do to him, Kirara?"

     Kirara shrugged and smiled slyly.

     With that type of look, she could have done anything, and Inuyasha suddenly did not want to hear it from the culprit. He looked at Kouga, and the wolf tapped his nose lightly in response. Inuyasha was confused until he took in Shippou's entire scent. He reeked of Kirara.

     "What did you do?" Inuyasha hissed at the cat.

     Kirara winked at Kagome, who was trying to hide her grin at Shippou's stupor, and then smiled seductively at Inuyasha. 

     "Do you want me to show you?"

     "Wench."

     Kagome laughed. "That's a no." She patted Shippou's knee gently after seeing that he wasn't going to be focused anytime soon and stretched her limbs. "I wish that Sesshoumaru would hurry up so we could find out what's going on."

     Everyone in the room nodded in agreement.

     And like they wanted, Sesshoumaru would arrive quickly, but it wasn't to be the normal controlled and graceful entrance that they were used to. Oh no, it definitely was not…

A/N: Well, there's another chapter. Sorry it's been so long. Life is more than heck right now. I want to curl up and sleep but as my friend Sammy tells me all the time, I have the worst sleeping habits that there are. *Sighs* Sammy, you are soooo right. But none of my hallmates heard me admit that ;). Hope that you all enjoyed. Updates will come as they come unfortunately. School is loading on work. But I appreciate your support. Every one of you! God Bless! ~_Of Memories Past___


	13. Part XIII

DISCLAIMER: Nope, I don't own Inuyasha or anything to do with it.

You're not Alone

By: _Of Memories Past_

_Part XIII_

*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*`*~`*

     A sudden crack and Sesshoumaru came crashing through the door with his wife and oldest daughters in his arms.

     "Sesshoumaru, what the hell?!" Inuyasha only had enough time to react and catch Rin when she was flung at him. He looked down at her bloodied body and torn clothing. It was a miracle she was conscious. "What's going on?!" 

     "No time," Sesshoumaru breathed, flinging Hana and Sakura at Kouga and Shippou. 

     The two demons caught the girls, getting their breath knocked out of them in the process, just in time to see Sesshoumaru disappear outside again. He returned moments later with five other pups clinging desperately to his back. Their wide eyes and terrified faces spoke books about the horrors they had seen, and it was only confirmed when the twins dragged themselves in behind their father. One of them leaned on the other, his leg twisted into a mutilated position. The other reeked of the blood he was covered in.

     "What's going on?" Kagome jumped up to help the twin with a broken leg onto the couch. "Are you alright?"

     The seemingly teenage boy only smiled half-heartedly in return as he allowed her to lower him onto the couch and prop his wounded leg up on the coffee table. His twin hovered over him, the constant repetition of "are you okay?" ringing in his ears. 

     "Maro, I'm fine," he snapped at his other half. But even as the words came out of his mouth, he winced in pain.

     "Well, excuse me for being worried, Matsu," Maro snapped. "Next time glowing bullets fly by, I'll try not to be concerned."

     "Stop it." 

     The two boys turned to their father and lowered their eyes. Sesshoumaru did not look happy.

     Of course there were no reasons for him to be. Rin clung to consciousness as Kirara attempted to clean her up and apply ice to the forming bruise on the side of her head. Sakura and Hana were obviously shaken as they sat with their uncle, Sakura tucked under his right arm and Hana planted firmly in his lap. Luckily they had received no more than a few bruises.

     But his little pups were terrified. With two tucked under each arm and Katsue in his lap with her thumb fixed in her mouth, Sesshoumaru could only hope that his wide-eyed children would be able to recover from seeing their other family members thrown about and shot.

     "All arguing will stop now. Matsu, go and get that looked at by Kirara when she is done with your mother."

     "Keh, it's just a bullet, Papa."

     Kagome looked up when she heard the "keh" and suppressed a smirk. It seemed that Uncle Inuyasha had passed on a few of his _nicer_ habits. 

     "Bullet or not, it's coming out!"

     Everyone one in the room fell silent at Sesshoumaru's outburst, knowing full well that if the demon lord was upset, there was a fairly good chance that all of them would be sometime soon also. It was best to keep him calm.

     "Damn," Sesshoumaru breathed, running a hand through his bangs. He quickly scooped up his five youngest and motioned for the others to follow him. Matsu, who had just had the bullet painfully removed and cauterized by the fire-cat, hobbled along with the aid of Maro. Sakura and Hana reluctantly left their uncle, kissing him on the cheek simultaneously as the hurried off to follow their siblings.

     "Aw, how adorable are they?" Kouga teased Inuyasha.

     Inuyasha, who had been smiling at his nieces' backs, whirled on the wolf. "Shut up, Kouga."

     "Okay," he held his hands up in relent. "But Sesshoumaru's putting them _all _in your room."

     Amber eyes seemed to register what was said only for a moment before he was chasing after his brother and his pups. "Sesshoumaru, no!"

     Everyone left watching giggled, even Rin in her beat up state. 

     "Just keep Katsue out of the tub," Inuyasha muttered, returning with his brother to the living room.

     Shippou left for a moment while everyone settled down and returned with seven glasses of ice water. Rin and Sesshoumaru downed theirs immediately.

     "What happened?" Kagome asked, crossing her legs and setting her water down. Glancing to the side she saw Rin put her glass down and grasp the sides of her head. 

     Ice headache.

     Sesshoumaru took a deep breath before answering. "Kikyou, and this time she almost got my family."

     "Kikyou did this?" Inuyasha asked, seeming surprised, and Kagome felt anger rise up in her.

     "Who else would produce bullets that glowed?" she hissed.

     "I didn't mean it that way," Inuyasha bit back

     "You—"

     "We don't have time for your bickering," Sesshoumaru interrupted, fixing the arguing couple with a glare. He turned to the wolf demon. "Kouga, what do you have for us?"

     "Well," Kouga answered, opening his briefcase and pulling out some files, "as if obvious, Kikyou is no longer with our department."

     Kagome held Inuyasha back from strangling him.

     "Tell us something we don't know!" Inuyasha shouted when Kagome somehow managed to pull him back.

     "Just hold on a second." Kouga dug through his briefcase for a few more minutes, sending papers and pens and pencils of all sorts scattering across the coffee table.

     Rin stared with wide eyes when he managed to pull out a mini boom box and set it aside also.

     "Ah, found it!" Kouga exclaimed and pulled out another paper.

     "Amazing," Inuyasha drawled, and Kagome elbowed him in the ribs.

     Kouga shot the Inuyoukai a look. "Okay, we know that Kikyou is working at the school now since Shippou made his little discovery in class today—"

     "Yeah," Shippou muttered, folding his arms, "do you know how many people in the world are infected by sexually transmitted diseases?"

     "Don't go there, Shippou," Kagome warned, slightly sickened at the sudden change in topic. She found herself rather glad that she had missed class today.

     "Anyhow," Kouga cleared his throat, "These guys are our dearly missed Shinitachi. And they are not cute, little soul swimmers anymore either." He handed out file to each of them and then turned to Kagome. "They're the reason you can't just skip out on your Health class and attend all your others. They've decided to fill in as substitutes all over the place."

     "They huge," Kirara mused, her fiery gaze fixed on the pictures of the burly men—or rather, concealed youkai.

     "And strong," Kouga added. "Matsu was lucky that it was one of them that shot him. If it had been Kikyou, he probably would have been a goner."

     "Or turned completely human," Inuyasha said.

     "Possibly."

     "Then why did she go after you guys?" Kagome asked Rin.

     "We help protect you," Rin answered quietly, a small hand grasping Sesshoumaru's. "She wants the Jewel to restore her life, and to get that she needs to get to you, Kagome. If everyone protecting you is gone, it will be easier."

     "That settles it," Shippou piped in. "This fox will not be going back to school."

     "We can't afford to head out again anytime soon," Sesshoumaru spoke up and turned to Inuyasha. "We'll need to stay here for a while."

     Inuyasha nodded in consent, and the room grew silent as everyone sat and contemplated what they had just been told. Kouga began collecting his files and shoving his never-ending pile of junk back into his briefcase. Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha both pensively stared down at the floor, looking up at each other every once in a while. The women in the group sat rigidly, Rin clinging to Sesshoumaru, Kagome sitting by Inuyasha, and Kirara coming up with numerous ways to keep the walking clay pot away from her friend.

     Everyone jumped when the ringing phone broke the room's silence.

     "Stupid phone," Inuyasha mumbled.

     "I'll get it!" Shippou leapt up and ran for the phone in the kitchen, glad to have a moment of relief. The tension in the living room was a bit too thick for his liking.

     But a minute later, he returned with a grimace. "It's for you, Kagome."

     A smile of thanks crossed her face as she accepted the phone from Shippou. "Hello? Oh, Mama! Yes…yes, everything is fine…no, I'm not going to tweak his ears right now…"

     Inuyasha sent a prayer of thanks above.

     "Yes, Mama…you what?!…no, this is not a good time…what do you mean they're on their way?…no no no, stop them!…you can't? Oh no…yes, Mama…okay…bye bye."

     "What's wrong?" Inuyasha asked, curious at her worried face.

     "We're having dinner guests tonight," Kagome muttered, dropping the phone to the floor. This was just not their day. "Apparently some people will not go without checking on me anymore."

     "Who's coming?" Kirara asked.

     A serious look crossed Kagome's face. "Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi."

A/N: And the friends are back! But it will not be typical…oh no. But stay tuned for our next episode of _You're not Alone_! God Bless, and tell me what you thought! ~_Of Memories Past___


	14. Part XIV

DISCLAIMER: Nope, I don't own Inuyasha or anything to do with it.

You're not Alone

By: Of Memories Past

Part XVI

AUTHOR'S NOTE: PLEASE READ!Okay, guys. First, let me apologize for the long wait. I won't bore you all with the details, but life this year has certainly been more different for me than it has ever been before, and I will admit that I didn't always deal with it in the best ways. But now, after a long (as you all obviously know) period of time, I am starting to feel back on track. Granted, life is not any less busy, but things are going better. I would like to dedicate this chapter to all of you who have stuck with the story (and my others) through this long wait. Thank you for all of your support, I love you guys! Please enjoy, and after so long, any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Rosie (Freaky) this is especially for you!

If the near battle that Sesshoumaru and his family had encountered earlier that day was not enough for Shippou's amusement, the announcement that dinner guests were on their way was.

Especially since it was Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi.

The fox snickered when Inuyasha cringed and Sesshoumaru trudged away muttering something about spending the evening in the bathtub with Katsue. Mentioning "Katsue" and "bathtub" in the same sentence only led to another round of shouting from Inuyasha before Rin managed to placate her brother-in-law by assuring him that the water-loving toddler would not be left unguarded. Inuyasha just snorted and left for his currently inhabited room.

Kagome, on the other hand, immediately snatched Kirara's arm and dragged her to the kitchen while Rin fled to the fire-cat's room to borrow some clothes. Company could arrive at anytime, and they were women with a cooking mission.

"Life is good," Shippou sighed, dropping onto the couch with his fingers laced behind his head. "Not one thing for me–"

"Shippou, run to the store and get some salad."

"What?! Why me?!" Just when he thought he had it easy, Kirara ruined the day.

"Don't forget some salad dressing too," Kagome added, her attention on the food she was preparing.

"Croutons!"

Shippou glared. Now they even had Rin on their side. "Are we forgetting the near death experience some of you just had? We shouldn't be going outside!" That reminder should keep him from running any errands.

At first it seemed that his ploy was going to work, and Shippou grinned happily from the couch.

"Sesshoumaru!"

Shippou stopped grinning as the girls placed their ace of spades.

However, Rin smiled at her mate when he lazily waltzed into the kitchen. "Can you go with Shippou to the store? He seems to be a little afraid to go out after what happened."

Shippou glared and Kirara snickered.

Saying nothing, Sesshoumaru locked eyes with Rin for a moment before slipping his concealing necklace over his head and snatching Shippou up on his way out the door. The fox's protests could be heard all the way out in the parking lot before the sound of an engine dying in the distance faded away completely.

"Oooh, call out the big, bad youkai and Shippou has no excuse!" Kirara laughed, popping a carrot into her mouth.

"He needs to come up with better excuses," Kagome grinned before flippantly adding, "what's the big deal with a near death experience anyway?"

Rin and Kirara burst out laughing.

"Don't worry," Rin piped in, jumping into a goofy fighting stance, "my husband will beat up any of the big bad men that come along." She laughed and threw a few sloppy punched. "Jab to the right, then the left!"

"Oh, wait wait!" Kagome cried, sticking her hand into her mixing bowl. She pulled out her hand, now dripping with sauce. "Poison claws!"

Rin fell over laughing at Kagome's impersonation of her husband just as Inuyasha walked out.

Kagome could not help herself.

"Blades of blood!"

Inuyasha jumped as sauce came out of nowhere and hit him in the face. Some succeeded in finding its way up his nose and he nearly gagged at the strong smell. It took him a moment for him to realize that this was one of those times that Kagome...well, was Kagome.

The culprit who had cheaply ripped off his attack had joined Rin on the floor.

"Not amusing," he muttered, leaving the squealing trio to clean up Kagome's sauce attack.

"He'll be smelling that for a week!" Kirara howled, sinking down to the ground and clutching her stomach.

It was nothing less than a miracle that dinner ever got finished.

Inuyasha leaned over the sink in his bathroom and splashed cold water onto his face. He grimaced and then splashed some more water, trying to get rid of the sauce. It certainly did smell strong when it was stuck in his nose.

He tried blowing his nose a few times to rid himself of the scent, and though it helped a little, he knew it would be a few days before it was totally gone.

The price of love.

Though he would not admit it aloud, he loved how Kagome would just do her silly little things. He loved how she would just _play_.

But now someone wanted to threaten that. And they were getting too close for his comfort.

Eyes narrowing in the mirror, Inuyasha growled quietly as his blood pounded furiously in his ears. They wanted her life, but he would not let anything happen. Seeing what his family had gone through today was just about enough, but if they were to come after Kagome like that...

His eyes bled red before he even had time to notice.

Sakura looked up from the television in her uncle's room that she and her siblings were watching when she noticed a new scent in the air. For a moment, she was confused, noting the familiarity of the scent but also detecting something she had never scented before.

A deep guttural growl coming through her uncle's bathroom door suddenly explained everything. Her eyes widened at the sound as old stories jumped into her memories. Her ears picked up her uncle's voice, yet now it held an uncontrollable tone to it. It was only a moment before her own instincts kicked in.

"Maro!" she screamed, scrambling to get up, "get everyone out of here now!"

"What?" Maro asked. But his own eyes widened when a fist with abnormally long claws thrust through his bathroom door.

Shouting out an expletive vile enough to make his father cringe, Maro hurriedly snatched up the five youngest pups and dashed out the door with Hana and Sakura hot on his heels. Sakura carried the injured Matsu on her back.

Needless to say, Kirara, Rin, and Kagome were not expecting for a room full of screaming pups to burst into the kitchen.

"What's going on?" Rin shouted above her children's screams as four of them flew by her.

"No time to talk," Hana yelled back, pulling open the front door to flee into the streets. Unfortunately, Shippou and Sesshoumaru had returned, and the fox was in the way poised to open the door, a bag of groceries in his hands.

Sesshoumaru stood behind him.

Or at least he did. Hana opened the door and completely disregarded her father and the fox, plowing right through Shippou. The force of her body sent the fox plummeting backward into Sesshoumaru, who just managed to catch his daughter by the back of her skirt before she took off down the street.

Hana swallowed at the glare her father fixed her with as he brought her back into the house with Shippou following behind.

"Papa, Uncle Inu's lost it!" Matsu shouted from Sakura's back.

Sakura frantically nodded her head.

"Oh no," Kagome groaned.

Kirara frowned and stood solid, ready to take any attack that came through.

But Katsue was unconsolable. "Papa! Uncle Inu...Uncle Inu go grrrrrrr...door, door, baftub...broken–" All of a sudden Katsue's eyes widened at the thought of the bathtub being broken. "Save da tub, Papa!"

Well, there was no time to save the tub because Inuyasha emerged from the bedroom and stood in the kitchen doorway, his youkai blood in complete control.

Kagome swallowed, and she and Rin slowly made their way toward the others.

"Bad Uncle Inu!" Katsue scolded. "Broke baftub!"

"I'm afraid he's going to break more than the bathtub, Katsue," Maro whispered, his eyes not leaving his uncle's red ones. "We're in trouble."

The doorbell rang.

Kagome's head snapped to the door, knowing the her three friends were the ones waiting on the other side. "Real trouble."

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed. I can't tell you when the next chapter will be out. Life is busier than I like right now. I'll try to update another story before I add another chapter to this. Hang in there, guys, I'm still here, and thanks for waiting! God Bless! _Of Memories Past_


End file.
